


The Crimson Countess

by RobinZGaige



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Beware of Ed's potty mouth, Gen, Mention of Death, Mild Blood, Mystery, School, Undercover Missions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-21
Updated: 2017-04-12
Packaged: 2018-07-15 19:06:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 42,908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7234909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RobinZGaige/pseuds/RobinZGaige
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A sudden assignment for an undercover mission foils the Elric brothers' plans to visit their teacher. Rumors have being going around the most prestigious school in Central regarding the recent deaths of a few students. Having to conceal his real identity, Ed ends up enrolling so he can investigate the causes of these mysterious murders.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Playing Family

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Fullmetal Alchemist is copyrighted property of Hiromu Arakawa.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this story some time ago for FF.net  
> It's under a different username (that is soon to be change to this one)  
> Anyway, hope you enjoy!

"Well, this is it," Hughes pronounced, putting a hand on his charge's shoulder. "What do you think?"

Ed looked at the building they were standing right in front of, with the dispassion and disinterest of someone who couldn't care less about the size and prestige of the place he was about to be spending the next few weeks in. Letting the silence drag on for a few seconds, he finally sighed in resignation and addressed the question.

"Honestly, I think this is a waste of time," he started with a deadpan look. "If the parents are so afraid for their kids' lives, they shouldn't have enrolled them here in the first place."

"That just gets to show what people are capable of doing just for some recognition."

Ed grunted in agreement, feeling annoyed by the lack of common sense in certain people.

"Are you sure you'll be fine alone in there?" Hughes suddenly asked him with a very serious expression. "Even if Major Armstrong and I were assigned as undercover backup, we still won't be able to stay near you twenty-four seven."

"Don't worry, even without Al, I know how to take care of myself," Ed reassured him with a shrug.

Hughes nodded at his answer. "Even so…" his glasses seemed to suddenly catch the sun's reflection, hiding his eyes from view. "If you find yourself in trouble..."

Ed looked up at him in tense silence, waiting with bewilderment for the man to continue.

"You can always look at one of these and you'll cheer right back up!" all tension was thrown down the drain as Hughes suddenly grabbed him by the shoulder with one arm, pulling him closer so the both of them could see the photos that the man was holding with his other hand. "This one is from when little Elicia was asking Daddy for a piggyback at the park, and this is from when my beautiful wife-!"

Ed felt the vein in his temple pop.

"Keep your damn photos to yourself!" he yelled at the top of his lungs, expressing exasperation all over his face.

Completely unfazed by Ed's temperamental reaction, Hughes only laughed it off and put his photos away.

"Your loss. But in all seriousness, try to be careful, Ed," he warned him getting back to business mode. "The rumors might make it sound like a big hoax, but there is definitely something unsettling going on in this place. And if whoever is causing it is only targeting students, you are the most exposed to danger of the three of us."

Ed frowned in response to that statement, but nodded in understanding. It might have felt to him like a time consuming sidetrack mission, but he was not about to underestimate its dangers.

His only consolation of the whole deal was the opportunity this mission gave him to research the Institute's library. Hughes had informed him of the possibility of finding books about other countries' approaches in alchemy. If this country's own methods weren't the answer for what him and Al were looking for, then maybe other countries' knowledge might have the answer.

This train of thoughts leaded him to remember his latest finding about the Philosopher's Stone and the horrible truth of the foundations for its creation. If he thought it in retrospective, all the events that unraveled after decoding Dr. Marco's research up to his own investigation at the fifth laboratory, which landed him in the hospital, were the reason he was here in the first place. What with the Fuhrer himself sneaking out to pay him a visit and ordering everyone involved to stop their inquiries about the stone.

" _I've decided that all of you are people I can trust."_

As much as being told that by the Fuhrer would be an honor to anybody else, he should have known that statement was only going to cause him more headaches. He couldn't believe he had to change his plans so suddenly; and right after building enough courage to take a train to Dublith and visit his teacher no less.

" _When the time comes, I have several tasks for you."_

That time seemed to have come faster than he had expected… right after signing out of the hospital, a lower rank soldier intercepted the group to deliver an envelope. It was documentation for an undercover mission where he had to pose as a new student on one of the most renowned schools in Central. There have been several cases of missing students that were found days later back in their rooms drained out of blood. The bodies didn't present any sign of abuse for the exception of fang marks on their necks. Rumors had started going around about the cause of these deaths, all of them sounding like nothing more than fantasy stories about vampires.

If it wasn't for the actual casualties, he would have thought all of it was just a well elaborated prank to spice things up on boring school days. But being as serious as it was, he ended up being assigned to investigate the occurrences under the direct orders of King Bradley. Somehow, he couldn't shake the feeling that this was a deliberate effort from the commander's part to distract them from their research. Yet, he didn't understand why. If he really trusted his soldiers as much as he implied, why would he go out of his way to stop them from getting involved in something he ordered them not to?

With that question still nagging his mind, he grabbed his suitcase from the floor and they continue their way to their destination. As inviting as the opened doors in front of them looked, Ed couldn't stop the shiver caused by chills going down his spine. The shadows created by the setting sun over the campus gave the whole place an eerie appearance.

A sharp glance from the adult beside him, let him know that his involuntary display of weakness hadn't gone unseen by the observant eyes of the intelligence agent.

"Are you cold?" Hughes asked him in a casual tone.

"I'm fine," Ed answered shortly, not ready to admit he was feeling a bit nervous.

It was true that he had done missions a lot harder than this one, but none of them involved having to stay put indoors for so long. That… and he couldn't remember the last time he had to socialize with people his own age on daily basis. Al didn't count; he was his little brother, even if he was just one year younger, and being family put him in a totally different group. Winry was the same. He knew them both practically since they were born.

"You sure you won't miss your red coat?" Hughes asked with a smile as they reached the doors.

Ed frowned at that. Being undercover meant not leading any clues to his true identity as a State Alchemist, which included his well-known red coat and automail. He couldn't do anything about his metal limbs but the red coat had to go. It was decided he had to use an entirely different set of clothes just in case. Something he grudgingly had to accept. It wasn't like he was going to be able to stay in casual clothes for long anyway, seeing as this institute required its students to wear petty uniforms within its halls.

"I'll manage," he shrugged pretending indifference.

"Will you?" Hughes whispered deviously as he grinned and leaned down to his height. "Little Ed is growing up so fast!" he said in mock affection while going for a hug.

"Who the hell are you calling little!" Ed spat in anger causing several eyes to turn their way on the reception. Eyes they both purposely ignored.

"What is uncle Maes going to do without his favorite nephew for so long?" Hughes let the last word drawl as he continued on with his charade, rubbing his cheek against Ed's.

"Gha! What do you think you're doing, you obsessive family man!?"

"Uh… May I help you?" a female voice caught their attention, noticing a woman standing right in front of them for the first time.

"Good evening, madam!" Hughes answered, deciding to finally let go and straightening back up. "We are here for my nephew's enrollment."

"Oh, will this be his first day?" the young woman seemed to brighten up.

"That's right!" Hughes affirmed patting Ed's back a little too hard, making him twitch in annoyance. "We have an appointment with the Principal for an interview before everything is set."

"I see. Please wait here, Mr…"

"Maes Hughes," he introduced himself. "And this is Edward Blecher."

The receptionist nodded in acknowledgement.

"I'll let her know you are here," with a quick polite bow she went on her way, giving them time to check their surroundings.

Just the reception was enough to display the fanciness of the facility. Hughes let out a low whistle letting know how impressed he was by it. For his part, Ed stared at the place with wide eyes, feeling as if every single corner of the room was sparkling before him. The expensive look of every piece of furniture triggered a memory of when Ed had to inform Colonel Mustang about the sudden mission.

" _Even if the Fuhrer was the one to assign you this mission, I'm still your direct superior; which means, any property damage you cause will directly affect my office," Mustang informed him over the phone. "Please restrain yourself from breaking anything in there, Fullmetal. If you can't keep your destructive tendencies in check, I'll make sure to cut the money off of your research funding."_

Ed suppressed another shiver as he took on a dejected look. At the time it didn't seem like a big deal, but now he felt like he had gotten himself in some big trouble.

"Something on your mind?" inquired Hughes in total casualness.

"I just feel like I entered a 'Look but don't touch' area," Ed answered in a dull lower key tone of voice.

Hughes only laughed at his comment and patted him on the head.

"Well, just make sure to be extra careful for at least three days before you decide to break anything," he whispered before pausing and pushing his glasses up his nose, making them glint. "The sake of my wallet depends on it."

"Huh?" if look could kill…

"Oh, come on, Ed. You honestly didn't expect Roy's team not to bet, did you? Of course, I had to enter too."

Ed's irritation deflated instantly as he sighed and closed his eyes. It wasn't worth his time to be mad about it now.

"Fine, but if I make you win, you'll have to give me half of that money."

Hughes grinned. "You got it, kiddo."

"Say, why am I the only one with the changed surname?" Ed whispered just loud enough for Hughes to hear.

"Well, I'm not the famous celebrity here," Hughes said matter of factly. "And in some cases, the truth helps making the lies stronger."

Ed hummed in mild interest before letting the conversation drop. Right at that moment, the receptionist lady came back and asked them to follow her. She leaded them to the office farther down the hall, where she knocked the door and let them all in after being given permission by the room's occupant.

The Principal was a scary lady, Ed decided. She seemed to carry herself with an air of greatness and coldness that Ed was sure she could freeze water with just a glare. And having his own share of experience in meeting strong women, he wasn't about to put that theory to the test.

"Lysbeth Van Thorndike," she presented herself raising her hand towards Hughes as a greeting gesture.

"Maes Hughes," he answered shaking her offered hand.

"Please take a seat," she gestured to a pair of chairs in front of her desk before proceeding to go behind it and occupy her own armchair. "I hope this last interview does not possess any kind of inconvenience for you. You see, I like to take a bit of my time in getting to know my students."

"That's very thoughtful of you, Miss Van Thorndike," Hughes smiled politely. "I'm pretty sure they appreciate the gesture of being taken into account as individuals."

She gave a small smiled at that. "Speaking of which…"

"Oh, right. This here is my nephew, Edward," Hughes introduced him.

Noting he was suddenly the center of attention, Ed cut a yawn short with a flinch, before sitting upright.

"Edward Blecher," he said with a straight face and a polite node. "Nice to meet you."

As the Principal made to look at him properly, Ed didn't fail to notice how her eyes seemed to get a bit wider before it was gone. Suddenly feeling nervous, he tensed under her gaze and gulped.

"Um… is there something wrong?" he asked tentatively, wondering if she had actually recognized who he was.

"I must apologize for staring. It's just that, I found it quite unusual," she explained. He must have confusion written all over his face since she elaborated. "Your eye color."

"Oh," of everything he was expecting, that wasn't it. "Yeah, it's a family trait."

"Not coming from your side of the family I assume?" Van Thorndike asked Hughes.

"That would be right. He is from my wife's side of the family," Hughes nodded in stride.

Seemed satisfied with the answer, the Principal took one of the folders resting on her desk and opened it wide to reveal its content.

"Now, I would like to talk about your trade," she continued. "It says on your form application that you aspire to be an alchemy scholar. Do you have any particular reason why you chose our Institute for your education?"

"I was told your Institute's library had a great variety of books regarding alchemy and similar studies from other countries," Ed answered truthfully. "I thought it might be the best place to find an interesting topic for what would be my future research."

"And you were told right," Van Thorndike confirmed. "There's no Institute in all Amestris that can bested us in our library resources. You'll be able to find theories of Rasayana, books about the possibilities of nuclear transmutation, or even Xing's Rentanjutsu on how to create medical potions like, say… the elixir of life."

Ed tensed with wide eyes, unable to hide his shock at the last revelation; Hughes having a similar reaction. Van Thorndike just arched an eyebrow and observed them in silence.

"The elixir of life? As in the liquefied counterpart of the Philosopher's Stone?" Ed asked in what he hoped sounded as mild curiosity.

"That would be right," Van Thorndike nodded. "It's true that most people find this mythical substance to be nothing more than old legends, but you would be surprised at the amount of researchers that take this particular topic as a serious investigation."

"Is there any student going for that topic?" Hughes asked with a guarded tone.

"Not that I know of," she answered with a shake of the head. "At least not within this Institute."

Ed visibly relaxed at that if just a bit. The elixir of life might not be exactly the same thing as the Philosopher's stone, but he would drink all the milk in the world if the process and ingredients of their making weren't almost if not completely the same ones.

"Do you have any particular topic in mind for your own research?" Van Thorndike asked Ed as she placed her elbows over the desk and intertwined her fingers in front of her chin.

"Well..." Ed made a pause as if thinking the answer for a bit. "I am... curious about biological alchemy. For medical purposes," he clarified as she showed the slightest sign of wonder. If he hadn't been paying close attention, he would have missed it.

"I see. I'm sure you'll be able to find what you need in our library."

"There's only one concern I'll like to address," Hughes suddenly said with a very serious expression.

The principal turned all her attention towards him, as a sign for him to continue.

"I'm sure the recent rumors about dying students inside the school grounds, has been causing you quite the fuss. Yet the Institute has manage to keep most of its pupils enrolled," Hughes went straight to the point. "Now, I don't doubt your capacities to keep the rest of your students safe, but I must admit, I'm a bit worried about Ed's safety. If you don't mind, I would like you to appease my uneasiness as you have surely done to other worried parents and guardians."

"I understand your concern, Mr. Hughes. And I'll be worried about your sanity if you weren't anxious about those rumors," Van Thorndike started with a very calm demeanor. "Yet I must emphasize that rumors are just that. Simple rumors created by the students themselves to scare their peers. What has truly happen to the deceased students had been kept from the press, out of respect for them and their families. We aren't talking about murders; these are cases of severe stress that led to depression, and... well, I'm sure you can figure out what could be the outcome after that."

Her vague explanation was enough to make them understand what she was implying, causing a shocked reaction on both of them. She continued to explain.

"Our standards are high. If the students can't keep up with our lessons, we cannot assure their mental stability. Especially if they do not speak up," a deep frown started forming on Ed's face as she went on. Something about her explanation just didn't feel right. "Now, I'm sure Edward is a brilliant boy, if his form and resume are anything to go by," with this, she turned to him with a stern expression. "No doubt you'll be able to surpass our expectations, am I right?"

Ed's only answer was to stare back at her with determination. He wasn't about to bow down at her obvious challenge. After a few seconds, she looked pleased with his silent answer and smiled.

"Welcome aboard," Van Thorndike finally said extending her hand to him. As they shook hands, she continued speaking. "This concludes our interview, but if you're ever in need of anything, do not hesitate to come and ask."

"Thanks," was his short answer as the three of them stood up.

"I'll call someone to guide you to the dorms and help you with your accommodations," Van Thorndike walked around her desk reaching for the door. "All students share a room with one or two roommates, so it will be better to get to know them and settle yourself in before nightfall."

With her attention turned to the now opened doorway, she missed the shared look between the two males. Even if worried, Hughes didn't look half as horrified as Ed felt. He didn't expect to have a shared room. He was determined to hide his metal limbs with gloves, and taking advantage of the uniform's modest style during his stay, but now, that plan was going down the drain really fast.

Hughes must have notice his aggravation since he placed a reassuring hand over Ed's shoulder and smiled at him as if to say that everything was going to be fine. Easy for him to think. It wasn't like he was the one who had to figure out a credible lie as the reason of his missing appendages.

'Okay, relax Edward. Just go for the Ishval war story,' he thought to himself. Yeah, right. Because he was somehow there during that time when his false documents said he was living in the West till recently. Was it him or had the temperature gone up all of a sudden? 'No, no, no. Concentrate. You still have time to figure it out.'

"Thomas, good timing. Come here. Would you mind helping your new peer around campus?"

"Not a problem, ma'am."

And Ed's internal voice screamed like a little girl at the top of its imaginary lungs. Even as he tried his best to show a calm and controlled demeanor, he couldn't stop his right eyebrow from twitching in a nervous tick.

"Well, that's the cue for me to be on my way," Hughes suddenly said raising his palm at shoulder level.

'Traitor!' Ed shouted in his head as he sent a glare his way.

"I thank you for taking care of my dear nephew," with a wide smile, Hughes proceeded to shake Van Thorndike's hand a bit more euphoric than what would be normal, causing them all to stare a bit dumbfounded.

As he let go of her hand, he turned to look at his charge and squatted down right in front of him.

"Good luck, Ed," Hughes said, placing a hand on Ed's head and rubbing his hair affectionately.

By then, Ed was finding it hard to control his patience, since his irritation was steadily going up to dangerous levels.

"Just remember to behave and restrain yourself from any kind of showy conduct, okay?" Hughes said with a meaningful gaze while pressing his hands together as in prayer.

"I know," Ed answer with grinded teeth, understanding the hidden meaning behind Hughes' apparent sign of pleading.

"Well, I gotta go, kiddo! See you in the weekend!" he said producing something from his jacket and giving it to Ed, before reaching the exit. "And don't worry about your wife. I'll take good care of her while you're gone!"

That's when Ed noticed the picture in his hand. Winry was shown smiling at the camera, making him blush furiously.

"Stop with the 'wife' comments!" Ed yelled after him.

And with that, the man was gone and off the building. Ed sighed in bittersweet relief.

"So, you're the new student?"

The voice behind him, leaded him back to his current situation. He turned around to find who he assumed to be Thomas standing right beside him, immediately noticing he had to tilt his head a bit upwards to meet his eyes. He reassured himself that Thomas surely was a senior, because there was no way in hell, they were the same age when this guy was clearly taller.

"His name is Edward Blecher," the Principal introduced him. "Please guide him to the dorms. Here's the documentation of the facilities' locations, management manual, and scholar schedules," she said that last giving Ed a yellow folder filled with papers. He barely had a chance to murmur a ‘thanks’, before she closed the door to her office behind her.

"Nice to meet you, Blecher. You can call me Thomas," the teenager said without missing a beat.

"Just Ed is fine," Ed corrected while nodding his understanding of the other boy's name.

With the introductions taken care of, they started their way to Ed's temporary housing.


	2. In the Shadows

"So, what drove you to enroll into this school a month behind schedule? If you don't mind me asking," Thomas inquired conversationally as they entered the school's back plaza, which was full of other students passing by or simply relaxing on the area.

"Just got a medical emergency to attend to, so I couldn't start classes until now," Ed answered with indifference, folding his arms behind his head for emphasis; both his suitcase and the recently obtained folder dangling carelessly in his hands.

"You sound awfully calm for someone who has four whole weeks of knowledge and homework to catch up to," Thomas commented good-naturedly.

That made Ed show one of his trademarked shark teeth smiles.

"I'm sure I'll figure something out," was his simple answer, causing Thomas to send him a curious look before snorting.

"I wish I could be as confident and carefree as you seem to be," he murmured with a somewhat downcast tone. “I know mishaps shouldn’t affect me like they do, but I just can’t help getting worried…”

Ed took conscious note of the sudden change in mood; his brain already connecting the dots to the possible reason for such a dejected demeanor.

"We are not talking about school workload anymore, are we?" he asked with a softer tone. "Is it about the students that passed away just recently?"

Thomas didn't answer right away, as if he was pondering if it was wise to tell Ed his thoughts, but right when they reached the dorms building, he relented.

"I know the Principal says they were under severe cases of depression, and I don't want to doubt her judgment. But, I knew Brent, and he never showed any signs of been remotely troubled. He did have a bad temper, but I'm sure that wasn't because of stress."

So Thomas knew at least one of the victims. Ed had figured as much, and that new piece of information just increased his suspicions about the credibility in the Principal's version of the story. There was a high probability that she was making up facts in order to reassure the Institute's primarily source of income.

"I'm sorry for your loss," Ed said politely.

"Thanks. I really didn't know him that long, since we met at the start of the term," Thomas explained. "But we were fast friends, so it does bother me more than I thought it should."

"I guess that only means you're a very good friend," Ed shrugged.

"You think that's it, huh?" Thomas asked with a bit of amusement. "Simple."

"Yeah, maybe," Ed answered sounding unsure, before laughing. "I don't have that many friends myself, so I wouldn't know for sure."

"I didn't have that many friends either until I arrived here a month ago," Thomas said dismissively.

"Wait, so this is your first year?" Ed asked in disbelief. "Man, you're freakishly tall for a fifteen year old!"

"Pfft… Don't you mean _you_ are too short for your age?"

Now he did it...

"Who are you calling a pipsqueak who's so short that even a flea could squash him to death?!"

"I didn't say that!" Thomas answered defensively with a mix of bafflement and amusement at Ed's tirade.

And there. The mood was back to normal, much to his relief. He had enough teenage angst inside his own head for him to deal with others'. It wasn't like he didn't sympathized with Thomas, but the conversation was getting steadily awkward for him.

They kept the conversation light the rest of the way until they reach the third floor, where a group of teenagers seemed to be causing a commotion in front of one of the rooms' doorways. This made Thomas stop with a frown that Ed though looked alien on the good-natured personality the other boy had been displaying.

"What are you doing? You know that room is restricted!"

The group stopped what they were doing and turned to look at the approaching teens.

"It's just a harmless challenge," answered the one that had been trying to pry the door open. "You know what the rumors about the Bloodthirsty Countess say, right? Whoever stays in one of her victims' rooms, will be able to talk to, and maybe appease, their sorrowful souls."

"'Bloodthirsty Countess'. Are these guys for real?" asked Ed under his breath.

"That is… if the lady herself doesn't get you first," at that, the group of friends shivered in supposed fright. "Wanna give it a go, Thomas? You can win the bet if you get out of there alive by dawn."

"Those rumors couldn't be more fake, Klein!" Thomas blurted out in anger. "You're disrespecting the dead by playing these games!"

"If they're as fake as you say, why did you move from yours and Brent's room?" the guy addressed as Klein, challenged.

"That… was an order from the Principal," answered Thomas, starting to look afflicted. "She relocated anyone that was roommates with the deceased students."

"Was that really it?" Klein asked with antagonism, standing right in front of him in a challenging gesture. "Or could it be you were just too afraid to sleep in the same room were a dead body was fou-"

"That's enough," Ed stepped in, having placed himself in between the two. He raised a hand towards the bully to make him back off and sent a harsh glare his way.

They all stared in confusion for a few seconds, apparently noticing Ed's presence for the first time. Klein, who just so happen to be the tallest of the group, let out a low growl of annoyance.

"Who's this shrimp?"

And that's as far as Ed's patience went.

"Did you just call me little?" he asked in a very low and dangerous tone; his palms already curling into fists by his sides.

A hand on his shoulder let him know Thomas was beside him, apparently sensing the rising tension.

"Come on, Ed. Let it go," he advised. "Let's find your room before it gets too late."

Sending one last warning glare towards the bunch of teens, Ed turned away reluctantly and followed Thomas through the hall. He waited until they couldn't hear the group's snickers and whispers before deflating.

"What a bunch of jerks."

"All in a school life," commented Thomas with a sigh and a shake of the head. "Wonder if I should have reported them to one of the teachers before they did something stupid."

"Nah, I'm sure they'll get bored eventually and leave," or so Ed hoped if his plan to check the place later was to go smoothly.

"Anyway, we are here. Your key should be on the folder the principal gave you."

Feeling pleased that he was finally going to settle in, he searched for the key, already thinking ahead on his next course of actions. Ed had mentally noted where the off-limits room was located, figuring he could start by searching for clues in there once everyone was sleeping.

As he opened the door, Thomas provided him with extra information regarding the building's facilities before leaving him to his own devices.

"My room is just three rooms down that way, to the right," Thomas informed him. "If you got any questions let me know."

"Got it. Thanks a ton, Thomas."

Finding the room empty of any other human, Ed set his stuff on the unoccupied bed and went out to explore the place on his own. He might as well get familiar with the surroundings while killing a bit of time. Maybe with a bit of luck, he would even find the library and spend the rest of the day there, waiting for the night to set all the way in.

It didn't take long for Ed to discover that the school greatness didn't consist in only its renowned fame. The place was huge! Up until then, he had explored the cafeteria, one of the three classroom buildings, and two different recreation areas made for the sole purpose of giving its students a place to relax.

As interesting as everything he found was, he couldn't hide his disappointment at not being able to find the library. Yet he didn't linger on the feeling for long, occupying his mind on what he had to do for the mission instead. Thinking it best to return to the dorms, he retraced his steps all the way back to the building in question.

As he was crossing the halls on the way to his room, a pair of familiar voices caught his attention right ahead of him.

"You wouldn't have done it."

"Of course I would have! You think that rumor scares me?"

Ed recognized one of the students as the bully from earlier. Thinking it best not to get into another confrontation so early, he just shrugged and kept walking.

"It's not my fault the teacher stopped us from going in," Klain was saying from behind his back.

"Yeah, yeah, anyway, see you tomorrow," his friend didn't sound convinced in the least by his brave declaration.

Footsteps soon followed and before he knew it, Klein had caught up to him and pumped him on the shoulder as he passed by.

"Move out of the way, small fry," his voice sounded calmed and uninterested, but just the name calling was enough to rile up Ed.

Feeling his blood boiling, he launched himself forward and without warning, kicked the guy in the back, sending him face first to the floor in what would have look from someone else's perspective, like a rehearsed comedy sketch.

"Who are you calling small, you freakishly oversized brute!?"

"What's your damn problem, dimwit!?" Klein had raised his upper body off the ground, showing to be equally pissed.

"That's my line!"

They both exchanged murderous glares with such intensity, sparks could be seen flying.

"I will trust for your own sakes, this is not a fight I'm witnessing."

The cold voice coming from the side distracted them from going at each others' throats. And as soon as the anger had risen, it dissipated when they turned towards its source. Just a couple of steps away, a woman with the school's administration uniform was looking at them with a severe gaze. Right alongside her, the very familiar form of a bulky and exaggeratedly buff man stood tall over them.

Beside him, Klein had paled like a sheet; mouth gaping in a mute scream and eyes getting out of their sockets in horrified shock. No doubt feeling perturbed by the size of the man standing right in front of them. Ed on the other hand, only stared blankly at his undercover teammate. He had completely forgotten that Major Armstrong had been assigned to the mission too. Playing his part, he straightened out and feigned ignorance.

"It was just a little disagreement of ideas," Ed excused them both rubbing the back of his neck nervously with his left hand.

"I sure hope that was just it," the woman huffed with irritation, before turning to her companion. "I'm sorry, Mr. Headstrong. As you may see, our students do have a lot of energy to spend."

'Headstrong...?' Ed face went from nervous to deadpan.

"There is nothing to worry, Miss Benik, " Armstrong answered in his usual dramatics. "Being full of vitality is what means to be young. I'll be more than glad to help them spend all that pent-up energy when we start classes tomorrow!"

Just when Ed though Klein couldn't get any paler… He himself, made a conscious effort to not show any emotions towards the Major's displayed enthusiasm, and was just glad the guy had decided to keep the shirt on this time.

"W-What class?" was all Klein could pronounce in fright.

"Why, physical education of course," answered Miss Benik as if it was obvious. "It's about time you resume with this particular subject after so long without a substitute teacher."

Well, joy… He took comfort in knowing that anything else in comparison to Teacher's training was a walk on the park.

"Enough dilly-dally, it would be better if you two go back to your rooms already," said Miss Benik, bringing an end to the conversation. "Please, follow me, Mr. Headstrong. I'll show you the indoors pool, next."

"Do rest well, children. I'll be seeing you tomorrow," Armstrong bid farewell before following the lady.

And with that, both adults were gone. Deciding he had wasted enough time, Ed went on his way. This seemed to have wakened Klein up from his daze, since just as he turned around and started walking, footsteps alerted him of the other teen starting to walk just a few steps behind.

As he reached his destination, he took his key out, and reached for the handle of his room, only to stop halfway at the sight of a second hand reaching as well. Turning his gaze to the side he found Klain's confused face looking back at him.

"What are you doing?" the guy asked.

"What does it look like? I'm trying to enter my room, genius," Ed talked back. Sudden comprehension and dreading annoyance filled his stomach. He had to wonder what he had done this time to merit this punishment.

"What are you talking about? This is _my_ room!"

"And as far as I know, the rooms are shared by two to three people. Your point?" now he was just being smug. He may not like it either, but he could at least pretend he didn't care just to spite his apparent new roommate.

"That can't be right; I altered the paperwo- I-I m-mean, obtained righteous permission to keep the room to myself."

"Well, it seems we are both out of luck," Ed shrugged moving to open the door. "Why don't we just pretend the other doesn't exist and keep to our own business?"

Klein's only reply came in the form of a frustrated grunt. As they entered the room, he went ahead and did just as Ed had suggested. Ed was a bit surprised to see his roommate actually concentrated in doing homework. He supposed the institute's fame of squeezing the life out of the students with schoolwork was not as farfetched as he thought if even the most troublesome students have to make a willing effort to keep up.

Following the example, Ed waited for the right time to start his investigation, by keeping himself busy with one of the few non-school books he had decided to bring along. He had to sit tight for another two hours before Klein finally went to bed. Waiting an extra ten minutes for good measure, he then slipped out of the room and went straight to the restricted room he had passed by when arriving.

A quick look to make sure no one was around and a small alchemy lightshow later, Ed was making his way into the victim's room. Closing the door behind him, he scanned the place filling chills. The place was eerily dark, only barely illuminated by the rays of light coming from the outside poles lined up around campus. The room's light switch itself seemed broken so he had no choice but to work with dim illumination.

He meticulously inspected every element of the room, expecting to find at least a small clue that could lead him into the right direction, but the only thing that looked remotely out of place, was a stain on the ground between the two beds. It's grayish color contrasted notoriously against the brown boarding covering the floor. And even this could mean nothing. After all, there was no way of knowing if this stain was created before the incident or after.

Ed interrupted his musings as a very low hissing sound froze him in place for a second. He stood up slowly from his crouch, straining his hearing for any sudden moves. Being in complete high alert, he searched the room for whatever could have make that noise. A pair of shiny yellow orbs looked back at him from the farthest corner of the room. Ed did a double take at the sudden apparition, unable to move as he stared at those animalistic eyes. A string of slurring words came from whatever was glaring at him before it leaped.

Ed was fast to react, sidestepping his attacker and retaliating with a kick. His metal limp only met air though, as the attacker moved away faster than humanly possible and hid in the shadow once more. Ed was a bit startled; he didn't think it was possible to move around with such speed. Suddenly feeling like a sitting duck, he looked around a bit more frantic, hopping to pinpoint his enemy before it strike again.

"Die…"

Ed's eyes opened wide in shock at the quiet whisper coming from behind him. He ducked down just in time to save his neck from a possible fatal assault. Whoever this was, apparently loved sharp teeth, and they weren't afraid to use them. Ed started to doubt this person was completely human if at all.

He did a handspring to get some distance between them, only to dodge backwards as it charged at him. He tried to punch his attacker when he saw an opening, but yet again his blow was evaded without a sweat. Ed grinded his teeth in frustration. This wasn't getting him anywhere.

"A sacrifice for the queen…" the aggressor whispered as it crouched threateningly. "Take them… to the queen…"

Ed frowned at that. If he had to guess, it looked to him like this person was acting under someone else's orders. Either way, he wasn't about to let his only clue to solving the mystery slip away. Seizing the opportunity, he made to clap his hands…

"So you were actually curious about the rumors after all."

"Wha-?"

...And got immediately distracted by the voice coming from the doorway. Turning his head to face the newcomer was a big mistake. His adversary took complete advantage of his distraction and tackled him to the ground with a startled groan. Ed didn't have a chance to retaliate before a pair of sharp fangs went for his shoulder. He grunted in irritation with the full weight of the attacker over him keeping him on the floor.

"Too bad. You chose the wrong shoulder," he informed smugly before punching the aggressor on the face with enough force to send it away. As he was picking himself back up, he caught a glance of what was attacking him before it jumped back and took refuge in the darkness. He was a bit surprised to find feminine human features, having expected to see some kind of animalistic creature instead.

"What's going on?"

The question full of startled confusion reminded Ed of the third individual in the room. Things just couldn't stay simple for him.

"What are you doing here, idiot?" he scolded Klein as he found him still standing by the doorway.

"I could ask you the same thing," was the other teen's heated respond.

Right then, Ed saw movement from the corner of his eyes and turned in time to notice the inhuman being launching itself at Klein.

"Crap!" he ran ahead and pushed the teen away, raising his metal arm in front of his face for protection.

The same sharp teeth that had tried to perforate his shoulder, met with metal again, causing the attacker to growl in frustration. It didn't relent though, and pulled at his arm in an attempt to make him lose his balance. Ed counterattacked by pulling his arm back and sending a kick to the stomach. That stunted it enough to let go of his arm and stagger a bit.

"Need their blood…" it hissed one last time before fleeing out of sighed, as if sensing a lost fight after two failed bites.

Ed cursed under his breath as he grabbed his arm. Not only had his only clue gotten away, now he had to check his automail for any damage.

"I really hope it's not dented or I'll have to suffer Winry's wrath for damaging it so soon after she just fixed it," he mumbled.

"T-Thanks," Klein startled voice made him turn around, finding the teenager in the ground.

Ed's facial expression relaxed in bewilderment towards the sudden show of gratitude before getting over it and sending Klein a toothy grin.

"Not a problem," he said while helping him to his feet. "Come on, we better get back."

The suggestion was met with a silent agreement as both of them walked side by side. Ed's mind was already soaring through the whole incident and forming his theories when it was suddenly interrupted.

"Hey, what's that on your arm?" Klein asked out of the blue.

Ed raised his arm to inspect the spot where Klain was signaling him, and found his torn clothes revealing his metal limb under it.

"Hold on. Is that your arm?!"

He sighed. So much for keeping the automail hidden…


	3. Assumptions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking so long in posting the chapters. I've been proof reading them as I go. And yet, I'm sure I'm still missing a few errors here and there...  
> Anyway, hopefully I'll have all chapters up this week. :)

The morning started pretty hectic. It was apparent that neither of the two teens were a morning person, which ended up in both of them sleeping in and having just ten minutes to get ready for their first class.

"I blame you for this," Klein complained as he was buttoning his shirt. "You messed up my times."

"Me? It's not like I forced you to follow me last night!" Ed retaliated; his attention focused on fighting with his tie to get it into a knot... The tie was winning.

"Well, you just went up and off to meet Mrs. Charming Bloodthirsty over there. Did you really expect me not to go and see what you were up to?"

"I didn't expect you to know I was out at all," Ed whispered to himself. He finally managed to get the tie done, before turning his attention to his roommate. "Look, you are responsible for your own actions. I didn't tell you to come, so if anyone's at fault for you being late, that would be you and you alone. Deal with it."

As Ed said that, he was pointing at Klein with his right hand, causing him to stare at it curiously. Knowing that particular look a bit too well, Ed unrolled his shirt's sleeves and grabbed his white gloves.

"So, what's the deal with your arm?" Klein asked bluntly.

Ed knew the question was coming, but that didn't mean he was ready to answer it. His mind had been too busy with last night's incident to figure out a cover up story.

" _Sometimes, the truth can help to make the lies stronger."_

Figuring he might as well give it a shot at Hughes' advice, he sighed loudly before answering.

"It's the consequence for my own foolishness," he said with a solemn tone as he adjusted his jacket. Klein looked like he wanted him to elaborate, but Ed decided against it. The less info about it, the better. So, going for a distraction instead, he pointed at the clock on the wall "Is the time right on that thing?"

"Wha-? Oh, shoot!" Klein grabbed his schoolbag and went for the door. "I'll be going ahead!"

Ed was grateful it had worked. Part of his objective was to be left behind so he could change out of his pants of the day before and into the uniform's. Last thing he needed was to reveal his metal leg as well. Once set, Ed hurried out and ran all the way to his first class. Fortunately for him, all his morning classes were different than Klein's, which meant he could avoid the weird questioning for a while.

He barely made it to his first class, but once it started, he wondered if it had been such a good thing. The classes weren't exactly difficult for him, and he started to feel his eyelids heavy within ten minutes into the lesson. He forced himself to take notes in an effort to stay awake and pretend he was interested, but the truth was, he couldn't care less about the right ways to formulate a compound sentence or how Amestris conquered Riviere in 1558.

It wasn't until his class before lunch that thing got interesting, to phrase it lightly.

"Listen up, kids! I am Mr. Headstrong! Your new physical education instructor!" he towered over them tensing his muscles to the point where he ripped his shirt off.

By then, most students were already backing up to the walls in panic.

"I will be teaching you the secret techniques for keeping your bodies in shape passed down from generation to generation through the Headstrong family!"

Ed looked at him with a stupefied expression, wondering if he should go and smack his head on the nearest wall and fake unconsciousness. Maybe if he was lucky, he wouldn't have to fake. Seeing as all the walls were already occupied anyway, he resorted to use the palm of his automail hand instead and hoped for that to do the trick... It wasn't enough.

The class itself was definitely something that Ed had never experienced before, and by the look of bewilderment of the rest of his classmates, they hadn't either. It was terribly exhausting, but it wasn't because Armstrong asked too much of them. On the contrary, he was very indulgent and demonstrated a level of genuine concern for his students' well beings that couldn't be misinterpreted as just an act.

No, the cause of the exhaustion relied on every single student's resolve to not stop for a break whatever the reason. Their motivation for such a hardworking demeanor came from the fact that whenever someone felt tired and took a rest, Armstrong would 'encouraged' their strength back by 'showing the magnificence of his muscles up-close and letting them touch them,' so basically, the student would rather die of exhaustion than face the teacher's show of concern.

By the end of the whole ordeal, most students were already sprawled half-dead on the ground, breathing heavily and feeling nauseous due to the lack of oxygen in their brains.

"Edward Blecher!" Armstrong suddenly called, making all the present students turn their heads his way.

"Y-Yes?" even if he was familiar with the man, he still couldn't help feeling nervous.

"Come over here for a moment," Armstrong commanded. "The rest of you, to the showers! Unless you wanted me to teach you the ancient technique of rubbing your back properly pass-"

"We'll go ahead! Don't worry about us!"

"Yeah, you keep him busy, Ed."

"God bless his soul..."

"Nice knowing you, new guy."

"Could I keep your notes if you die?"

"Backstabbers…" Ed murmured to himself, deciding to ignore the comments flowing at his back and walking towards the Major in stride.

He wasn't about to let go of the opportunity the Major was giving him to escape the showers. He could do without having to expose his metal limbs to more people after all. When the place was vacated for the exception of the two of them, Armstrong went straight to the point.

"Have you found any leads?" he whispered.

"As a matter of fact, yeah," Ed admitted with a serious expression. "I went to one of the victims' rooms last night to investigate. It seems we are dealing with something that is not exactly human."

"Are you saying the rumors about it being the work of vampires may actually be true?" Armstrong raised an eyebrow at that.

Ed shook his head as a negative response. "I'm not about to believe in fairytales."

"Then, what do you think it might be?" Armstrong asked a bit puzzled.

"I'm not sure yet. I was attacked by this weird girl when I entered the room, but couldn't see her properly. She moved too fast to be normal and used the shadows to her advantage; as if she could see through the dark," Ed explained. "It seems to me like this gal was guarding the place from curious eyes under someone else's orders."

"I see. That still doesn't explain what our culprit is doing to the students, though."

"There's one thing I can say for sure," Ed started. "Suicide was definitely not the cause. And the culprit is making a heck of a lot of effort to make it look like it's the work of so-called vampires."

"I'll report your findings back to Lieutenant Colonel Hughes," the Major nodded. "Though I don't know how much we could find without the bodies…"

"What do you mean?"

"The bodies that were retrieved from the dorms disappeared overnight," explained Armstrong, making Ed stare wide eyed at him. "There was no evidence left of who might have done it, so the whole incident has kept the Investigations Department busy all morning."

This was just getting more confusing. There was no way the bodies had gone up and leave all on their own. Why would the culprit let the authorities retrieve the bodies only to steal them back later? Was there a purpose for such actions? Or was it something in the bodies that could have given them away if they didn't get them back?

"I'll keep investigating from my side," Ed finally said. "I'll let you know if I find anything."

With nothing else to report, they parted ways. Ed was still mulling about the recent exchange when he reached the showers. Luckily, they were almost empty already, making his task of finding a secluded area a lot easier.

He went on with his day, barely paying attention to the rest of the classes, still trying to find a coherent explanation for what had happened the night before and it's correlation to Armstrong's report about the missing bodies. Before he knew it, the classes were over, and all his musings were interrupted by someone approaching him.

"Hey, Ed. What have you think of the school so far?"

"Hm?" Ed turned to the speaker finding Thomas standing next to his desk. He finally noticed the classroom was almost vacated and started cleaning his place. "Oh… If you're talking about the classes, I was fighting not to fall asleep," he couldn't help yawning as if to reinforce his statement. "Aside from that, though, I guess it's been… interesting."

His answer sounded doubtful, since he wasn't sure how to describe it so far, what with last night's adventure and Armstrong's unorthodox class.

"Are you maybe talking about the most recent rumors?" another teen entered the conversation standing beside Thomas. Ed recognized his face from a few classes they had together.

"You mean last night's?" Thomas asked. That picked Ed's interest.

"Yeah, someone said they saw one of the supposedly deceased students walking around campus after sundown," the teenager explained.

'What?' Ed shot him a sharp glance in surprise, but before he could ask him to elaborate, the teen was already speaking again.

"And that's not all. Apparently a pair of students had an encounter with the Countess and lived to tell the tale," the teenager continued explaining.

Ed froze in the middle of standing up. He started to wonder if there was any secret that could escape the network of rumors established on a place full of teenagers. The thought suddenly cause him to feel uneasy about his cover.

"Probably a couple of airheads, with little to no self-preservation that wanted to be the center of attention," Thomas commented with a shake of the head.

'Little?' Ed's eye twitched. He tried very hard not to scowl at them for the unintentional insult at his persona; all the while hopping his throbbing vein was not visible.

"What if she actually got them, and they're just acting as her servants to survey who would be the best candidate for her next dinner?" Thomas' friend suggested in thought. "That would explain why the first victims are up and about…"

Ed couldn't help roll his eyes at that. Noticing Thomas had frowned at the last comment, he decided to intervene.

"There are no such things as vampires, so you can be at ease" he waved his hand dismissively as he made his way towards the exit.

"I don't know. The circumstances are pointing it as the most logical explanation," the teen behind him debated as he followed him outside.

"What's so logical about mythical creatures that suck the living force out of people to survive?"

"You know? Ed's got a point," Thomas defended. "That's just unrealistic."

"Hmm… I'm still thinking it's a bit fishy."

"Oh, Ed!" Thomas caught his attention before he could get too far. "We are planning to join a few friends at the library and get some homework done. Care to join us?" he offered. "We could help you catch up with all your extra work."

"Or you could help us with ours, seeing as you seem to know your stuff."

The mention of the library was all that Ed needed to get convinced on tagging along. He took careful note of its location, and had to resist the urge of running away from the group of students to go and get lost in the hundreds of shelves that towered all over the two-floored building.

With his mental restrain in check, he walked alongside the group towards an empty desk, where they got accommodated with books and notes wide opened. For the next hour, they spent their time investigating historic dates, foundations on basic alchemy; which Ed wrote down without having to open a single book, and the proper uses for prepositions.

"Man, with all this studying, I'm starting to wonder if I chose the right trade," one of them, Fiedler if Ed's memory served right, was fast to whine. "Can't we just postpone all this for a few more years and worry about being adults later?"

Thomas' friend, whose name Ed still couldn't remember, was the first to agree.

"Yeah, who on their right mind would go and disregard their youth for the sake of working their butts of?"

These words flew like a well aimed spear towards Ed's general self. The imaginary, yet painful stab on the head caused him to release a barely audible choking sound that went unnoticed.

"Isn't that what the Fullmetal Alchemist did when he was just a little kid? Actually, he should be more or less our age right now, shouldn't he?"

As interesting as the conversation was turning, Ed was not amused. Yet he kept quiet with a deadpan expression and decided to ignore the involuntary jab at his height for the sake of listening to what they were saying.

"That guy is an exception. He's supposed to be a genius, isn't he?"

"Wonder what would have been his motivation to enter the military at such a young age."

"Are you kidding? With all that fame and the privileges he gets? Who wouldn't want to be famous? And I bet the payment must not be bad at all."

Ed eyebrow shot up at that. Yeah, the privileges were necessary for his research, but the rest, he didn't give it a second thought. As arrogant as he may act, he had more important things in his mind than petty reputations; mainly, finding a way to restore his little brother's body back to normal.

"Do you really think he would be that vain?" Thomas retorted a bit unconvinced.

"What do you think, Ed?"

"Huh? Me?" Ed was taken out of his musing at the question. He looked pensive for a moment before deciding to be truthful. "Maybe… he's just aiming for something that he cannot obtain otherwise…"

The seriousness in which he answered made his classmates blink in astonished silence. Ed was the kind of person that could make a very notorious first impression due to his openness to say things bluntly and loud; bordering on cheekiness. So the rare occasion in which he showed his more subdued side, he tended to cause a second impression equally strong, yet on the totally opposite direction than the first.

"That makes kind of sense," Thomas was the one to break the silence.

"Whatever it was, it had to be seriously important for him to decide selling his soul to the military," one of them commented, causing Ed's mouth to form a thin line; his expression the epitome of a poker face.

"Or he just loves the attention," debated Fiedler with a grin. "I know, I would!"

"Yeah, let's not forget he's not you, Ren," Thomas deadpanned.

"And, man! _That's_ a relief!" another agreed.

"Oi, what's that suppose to mean?"

And with that, the conversation turned to a different direction altogether. They spent another hour there before they started picking up their things. Ed decided to stay behind, pointing out he had a lot of workload to catch up to. Wishing good luck and saying their goodbyes, the group left the desk all to himself. He was already considering taking a break from the schoolwork to check the books he really wanted to read, but he never got to go past the planning stage of this idea.

"Studying hard I see! Just as I expected of you."

The sudden voice came out like a booming thunder after so much quietness, making him flinch for a second, before regaining his composure.

"Oh! I'm sorry, Miss Van Thorndike, I didn't hear you coming," Ed placed the book he was reading on the table, switching his attention to the Principal.

She walked around from behind him with a passive expression, placing herself in front of the table so she could scan the titles of the books that rested on it.

"It's fine, boy. That is just proof of your true dedication to your studies," she dismissed the apology. "Speaking of… Are you adjusting fine?"

"Yeah, I've had no problems so far," Ed answered truthfully.

Thorndike nodded in approval. "Good. And what about your investigation? Have you gotten any time to start it yet?"

Ed was shocked frozen for a second, before he remembered what they talked on the interview. He understood that she was talking about his supposed alchemy research as part of his trade. He just shook his head with a negative motion, in an attempt to cover up his initial slip-up.

"I'm still catching up with all the classes. But I figured I could check a few books after I'm done," well, that was at least half-truth. He really was going to check them, just not after his homework was done, but instead of.

"That's reasonable," she agreed, as she picked up an untouched alchemy book on the farthest edge of the table and started skimming through it. "You know? Biological Alchemy is such an intriguing theme. With all the studies on body anatomy and health solutions, I'm eager to see what you can accomplish with your findings."

Thorndike placed the book back where she found it before continuing.

"This Institute takes pride on its bright students," she said with a light smile. "And I can see great potential in you."

Ed blinked and murmured a "Thanks". This lady was putting too much faith in him for someone that just met him the day before. Either she was very enthusiastic with all her students or… no; she couldn't have figured it out. Could she?

As the principal bid farewell and Ed was left alone for a second time, he finally noticed how late it already was. Sighing in defeat, he cleaned up the table from all the books and notes, before taking his leave back to the dorms.

With his guard momentarily down due to the saturation of information in his head, he failed to notice the watchful pair of eyes that followed his moves all the way to the library's exit.


	4. Servants

"Have you ever tried punching someone with that arm?"

"You know? I'm considering doing that with you right about now," Ed gritting his teeth in an attempt at self-control.

"I bet you wouldn't be saying that if I was a girl," Klein commented more to himself, but Ed still managed to hear him.

"Why would that stop me?"

"Wait… so you would hit a girl?"

And that's how Ed's conversations had been going since he returned to the dorms the night before. The morning of the second day, Ed made an effort to get up earlier than normal, and get out of the room before his roommate even woke up, but Klein was fast to get ready and follow down the hall to continue with his nonstop inquiry, no doubt in an attempt to get Ed to tell him more about how he got his automail. To say Klein's continuous eager and blunt questions were destroying his almost non-existence patience was an understatement.

"Don't you have anything better to do than driving me nuts?"

"But you haven't really told me how you got your arm," Klein complained as if that was reason enough to justified his annoying interrogation. "Can't you at least tell me where I can get one?"

"You _want_ an automail for an arm?" Ed asked him incredulously. "Okay, here's an idea for you: Go and get yourself a chisel, then stab your arm repeatedly until it falls off; that way you can make space for the automail one!"

"That sounds horribly painful," Klein deadpanned. Either he was not very good at getting sarcasm, or he was actually very good pretending not to, just to rile him up.

"That's because it is, you thickhead!" Ed exploded.

It was definitely the second one.

"Are you talking out of experience, shorty?" Klein retaliated in irritation to the insult.

"Wha-? Stop calling me that before I use my right arm to shove your head inside your neck!"

Klein paled visibly at the mental image, but his pride seemed to be bigger than his instinct for self-preservation.

"You know the funny thing about that? I'll still be taller than you!"

A roar-like scream was all the warning Klein got that Ed had totally lost it. Without his walking conscience of a brother to intervene, Ed was like a loose cannon. Klein seemed to perceive his evil dark aura quite clear this time, since he took his distance while placing his hands in front of him in a placating motion.

But as fate would have it, the strange circumstance prevented Ed from commenting cold murder in his rage. Being too consume by thoughts of painful retribution, he failed to notice Klein sobering up almost immediately; a confused expression replacing the nervous smirk that had been adorning his face.

"Say, isn't the hall too quiet?"

The question was enough to get Ed out of his angst and make him look around. The dorms weren't supposed to be this empty at this hour. Raising an eyebrow at the silence surrounding them, he walked the rest of the way on high alert until they reach the second floor, where they found the majority, if not all of the student body cramming up near one of the rooms. Ed's alarm bells went off as he sensed the anxiousness and slight panic coming from the loud chattering.

He scanned the crowd until he found a familiar face and approached him. "Hey, Fiedler!"

"Oh, hi, Blecher."

"What's going on?"

"Another student disappeared last night," Fiedler was fast to inform, causing his audience to freeze wide eye.

"Seriously? Who was it?"

"I didn't know him," Fiedler answered Klein's question with a shake of the head. "All I know is that he used to be roommates with the first victim."

"Are you sure he disappeared?" Ed asked for clarification. "I mean, if it was just last night, he could just have spent the night elsewhere."

"That would normally be the first thought, but there are signs of struggle this time."

Hearing everything he needed, Ed dashed forward, squishing between curious students to get to the scene himself. It was times like this when he couldn't help thinking how useful it was to be so sm… sma… smghm…

...moving on! As he arrived, he found Armstrong already in the scene, crouching down on something on the floor.

"What did you find?" Ed whispered beside him as he scanned the disarrayed room.

"There's a trail of blood on the floor. It looks fresh, too," Armstrong answered with a serious expression.

Ed followed the trail with his sight trying to figure out what could have happened. That's when he saw a very familiar looking grey stain on the carpet just beside the trail.

"Wait a moment, I've seen that before…" he commented as he crouched and pointed at the stain with his gloved hand.

"Either you're onto something or they need better maintenance equipment for the carpets."

"..."

A few seconds went by in silence, while Ed registered Hughes' presence squatted beside him.

"What are you doing here?!" Ed finally shouted, jumping away from the man.

Armstrong himself seemed to be content to just stand back up and observe the interaction, as if he was used to seeing it happening; his towering figure helping to block the rest of the students from going further into the room. This seemed to provoke quite a few complains about being unable to see and inquiries about the sudden scream.

"Can't I come and see how my nephew is doing?" Hughes asked as if trespassing the school was a normal daily activity of his. Ed wouldn't be surprised if it actually was, and somehow felt bad for poor, poor little Elicia. "By the way, Alphonse and Winry say hi. Your brother wanted to know if you've been eating well, and Winry wanted to remind you to do the maintenance of your automail properly, if you didn't want to meet her new wrench face to face."

"As charming as always…" Ed shuddered with a nervous smile, feeling sweat rolling down his forehead.

"Who's Winry?"

Ed yelped in shocked surprised at seeing Klein and Fiedler standing at his other side.

"Oh, are they friends of yours, Ed?" Hughes didn't seem to be phased at being overheard. "Maes Hughes. I'm Edward's uncle," Hughes introduced himself as he gave Ed a side-hug for emphasis. "Winry is just his sweet hea-"

"How many times do I have to tell you she's not my girlfriend?!" Ed shoved the man off of him, deciding to interrupt before Hughes could finish the embarrassing statement.

A snort coming from Klein got their attention back to him. "A girlfriend? You, Mr. Metal-arm-I'll-punch-you-in-the-face-if-you-call-me-short? Yeah, right."

"Wait what?" Fiedler's confused question went unnoticed.

"Well, considering she's his personal mechanic, it's not so hard to believe," Hughes just didn't seem to know when to stop.

"Mechanic? So you got your arm from her?" Klein suddenly sounded very interested.

"Hold on. What's that about his arm?" Fiedler tried again.

"Oh, he has an automail for an arm! It's pretty cool," Klein supplied.

"For real? Whoa, that's awesome! Can I see it?"

Feeling an oncoming headache, Ed pinched the bridge of his nose and exhaled deeply; all this while murmuring about stupid missions and how he'd rather be facing his teacher's wrath than having to deal with unworldly teenagers and crazy family-obsessed men.

"How did you get past the bunch of people and the wall at the door anyway?" Ed asked in an attempt to change the topic, as he pointed at Armstrong, who just blinked at him.

"I just pushed people out of my way," Klein shrugged. The casual statement caused Ed to feel even more irritated for some reason.

"And I just followed behind him," explained Fiedler.

"Everybody, off with you!" the principal's booming voice from the outside cut the conversation short as everyone turned their attention to the woman.

"Miss Benik, Mr. Headstrong, would you be so kind as to escort the students back to their respective classes?" she ordered as the students started dispersing.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Right away, Miss."

Armstrong made sure to grab the two civilian students by their shoulders, before guiding them out of the room and into the hallway. While the authority figures got into their task of emptying the place, Hughes went back to business, catching Ed's attention.

"Let's get a sample of that," the man suggested as he crouched back down near the grey stain. He focused on his work while keeping the conversation in a casual yet serious tone. "Oh, I thought you should know… strong winds are coming from the _East._ Be prepare for the _storm._ "

Ed eyed him suspiciously, starting to decipher the ambiguous comment on his mind, but couldn't linger too much in those thoughts before they were interrupted.

"Mr. Hughes, is there a reason to why you are trespassing the school grounds?" Thorndike finally noticed him. "...again."

'Again?' Ed was now sure his theory about Hughes' hobbies was right.

"I was just worried about my little nephew here!" an instant later, Hughes was patting the head of a fuming teen that kept ranting under his breath about being still in his growing stage and how just everyone else was abnormal for growing beforehand.

"Worried or not, there are protocols. You are supposed to check in with one of our administrators at the reception, and state a reason for the visit."

"Of course, of course. I'll do that right away! Could you guide me back to the reception, please? This place is so big I think I got myself lost again," with that said, Hughes didn't wait for an answer and started pulling a very annoyed principal along the way.

"Mr. Hughes, please try to read the situation. One of my students just disappeared. This is no time for-"

"I'm completely aware of the gravity of the circumstances, Miss Thorndike," Hughes' switching to a completely serious demeanor, made the principal do a double take. "That's why I believe you should contact the authorities as soon as possible. So let's go."

Leaving her without room for an argument, Hughes kept dragging her away from the dorms, switching back to his layback self.

Ed grinned in satisfaction when he noticed the place had been entirely vacated, giving him the chance to investigate the scene further without trouble. That is, until a voice behind him froze him half-step.

"What are you still doing here, Ed? You're gonna be late for your first class."

Ed turned around to find Hoffmann, a senior student he met during lunch time the day before, passing by with another one that looked very distressed. Ed tensed up in nervousness, feeling his joints rigid as he placed a hand behind his neck.

"Ah… you see… I, um… Is it that late already?" he finished his lame act with a nervous laugh, receiving confused looks in return. "Well, let's not just stand here. You'll be late too, won't you?"

"Right. Give us a moment, Simon just wanted to retrieve his schoolbag from the room," Hoffmann explained in apprehension.

"Wait, is this your room?" Ed suddenly forgot all about his nervousness as he addressed Hoffmann's friend.

Simon only nod in confirmation before entering the room to look for his belongings.

"Simon said he wasn't here when it happened," Hoffmann supplied, waiting outside the room beside Ed. "He feels guilty because he thinks he could have done something to help."

Ed shook his head at that statement. "That could have just ended badly for him, too."

"I know it could," Simon suddenly said as he walked out of the room. "But still, David had been acting a bit strange before this happened. I should have tried to help since then."

"Strange how?" Ed asked severely.

"He… said he had seen his old roommate wandering the school grounds the night before yesterday," Simon elaborated. "David was determined to find out if it was truly him, so he kept mentioning how he was going to search for him last night. I thought he was just messing around, so I let him be."

"Did he ever mention finding something out?" Ed pressed on.

Simon seemed to think for a moment before answering a bit unsure. "The last time I saw him, David seemed to be in a hurry to get to the dorms. I tried to ask him what was wrong, but he just mention something about bloodsucking ghouls before I lost sight of him."

"Ghouls?" just when Ed thought he had heard it all. He folded his arms over his chest in deep thought, but trying to piece the new information together with what little he knew was like trying to swim in mud: confusing, tiring, and horribly slow.

"Popular folklore mentions vampires as creatures that not only suck their victims dry of their blood, but also turn them into their brainless slaves," Hoffmann commented with the neutral tone of someone who was just sharing knowledge. "It's a possibility David thought the rumors were true."

"So when he saw someone that was supposedly death, he panicked," Ed finished the thought. It would actually make sense to him if there was a logical explanation of how and why the dead seemed to be rising to their feet. Also, whatever he saw seemed to be enough to get him in trouble. But the question was, what exactly did he find out, that caused him to be attacked?

He absentmindedly walked all the way to his class, feeling like he was getting more questions than answers. By the time he arrived, the class had already started, and he had a hard time figuring out what class he had just entered to. Ed blinked in confusion at the scene before him. The room has full of tripods carrying large canvas; all lined up in half a circle around a small platform. The students themselves were standing in front of each canvas with variations of grim looks or horrifying expressions; the reason of their chagrin, standing right in the middle of the room.

"Oh! Glad you could join us, Edward Blecher! You came just in time for our first Artistics lesson of the term!" A very enthusiastic Armstrong started saying.

'Say what now?' Ed was starting to regret not checking the class' subject instead of just the classroom's number.

"We will begin appreciating the human body anatomy by using a visual aid! Of course I'll be more than willing to be your model," and the shirt was off, and the sparkles where on. "So you, young generation of future artists, can transfer the wonders of a magnificent muscular body into paper!"

A collective scream with large variety of pitches could be heard around the whole building, and for a very scary moment, the rest of the campus thought the countess had strike again in less than a day. Later that day, the students of the Artistics class, would confirm to the rest, that they had encountered something very much worse than a bloodthirsty lady with long teeth.

As it turned out, Ed had been assigned to all of Armstrong classes to help them be in contact easier. Ed wanted to discuss the possibility of being scarred for life, but he couldn't debate against the idea of keeping in contact without raising suspicions.

"So you think he could have been attacked in order to be kept silenced?" Armstrong asked as he placed a folder on his desk, alongside others that were already opened.

"That's what it seems like," Ed nodded in affirmation; his eyes scanning the contents of the personal files of each missing student.

They were trying to find a pattern on the victims, but so far, the only thing they found was the similarities between the students' hair color. All of them had a golden blond kind of hue. All except David.

"I must admit, this is very upsetting," Armstrong commented with folded arms. "Who would be willing to attack such young kids so ruthlessly?"

"I could name a few..." Ed answered with darken eyes. Flashbacks of the Tuckers and Scar went through his mind, but he shook them off almost instantly. He had to concentrate on the present mission. "I better go now. Getting late to two different classes in a row might look suspicious. And the bathroom excuse can only last so long."

Armstrong nodded to him, as he started cleaning the desk. "Do be careful, Edward Elr- ahem… Blecher. If the pattern of the victims is anything to go by…"

He didn't need to continue. Ed understood the implications.

"I will," he reassured before exiting the classroom.

The rest of the school hours went by full of renewed gossiping about the recent disappearance. Ed used the commotion to try and get more information, but as the rumors kept growing, Ed noticed the information got noticeably uncorrelated to reality and out of proportions.

Ed went to sleep that night with a horrible headache. His thoughts were in turmoil in his quest to find a logical explanation to everything he found during the day. The more he discovered, the more ridiculous it was turning out to be. Ed refused to believe the whole incident was caused by a mythical creature whose existence wasn't even proven, but the clues weren't leading him elsewhere. There had to be something he was missing.

He fell asleep without even noticing, so when he came back to consciousness in the middle of the night, he was horribly disoriented and feeling strangely uncomfortable.

"The queen... needs..."

"Wha-?" Ed opened his eyes groggily trying to decipher where the whispering was coming from, or if it was even real. As his senses slowly returned to him, he finally notices the sharp eyes staring intently at him right in front of his face.

His own eyes opened wide in shock at the apparition, and his body reacted on instinct, pushing the extra weight away from his personal space, before it could try anything. Instants later, Ed was already on his feet.

"Who the hell-?!"

"Your blood… she needs your blood," the whispers continued as if unfazed by the rude treatment.

"Hey, man. Keep it down I'm trying to sleep," Klein mumbled in his sleep.

The intense gaze was turned that way at the sudden noise coming from the opposite bed. Cursing under his breath, Ed grabbed his own pillow and threw it at his sleeping roommate.

"Get your butt off the bed!" Ed ordered the teen, effectively waking him up, and reclaiming the intruder's attention in the process.

"What the heck do yo-?"

Klein's irritation was morphed into horrified shock as he saw the shadow of a person lunging at Ed and throwing him to the ground with a yell of surprise. Ed barely managed to intercept the attacker's claws with his hands, avoiding what would have been a nasty blow to his chest. With the inhuman strength gaining on him, he resorted on his automail foot and kicked the fierce female on the stomach, sending her flying against one of the study desk.

"Wow, you weren't kidding when you said you wouldn't hesitate to hit a girl."

"Does that look like a girl to you?!" Ed pointed at the supposed girl, who was in the middle of standing back up with the fluid motion of a cobra; claws and sharp teeth shining through the darkness.

Klein seemed to get the point and stood up in seconds.

"Is that the countess?!"

"Of course no-!"

"The countess… the queen…"

"Klein, watch out!"

With another rough kick, Ed was able to counter the intruder's forward thrust. She didn't stagger this time however, and shifted around him swiftly, before slashing at him from the back. Ed moved away as fast as his reflex allowed him, but he couldn't avoid the attack completely, gaining a painful gash on his upper arm. He gritted his teeth in both pain and frustration; whatever this thing was, it was fast. Just like the one he had encountered the first night. Yet Ed knew they weren't the same individual.

"You're a tough one," Ed commented in irritation, receiving a hissing noise in respond.

"Hey, are you feeling okay? You're bleeding," Klein informed him with clear apprehension on his voice. He was trying to get cover on the floor, where he could see the drops of dark liquid dripping on it.

"It's nothing, I'm fine," Ed reassured him as he placed his metal hand over the injury. He was seriously considering blowing his cover and use alchemy to help him fight.

As he turned his attention back to the fight, he reprimanded himself for getting so easily distracted when he noticed his opponent was nowhere to be seen; her constant whispers and hissing noises being the only way of knowing she was still there. A sudden scream of terror made Ed turn back to Klein, finding the attacker between them, lunging over the taller teen.

"Shit!" To hell with the cover! He ran forward clapping his hands and transmuting his metal arm into a blade.

Ed struck forward, making her back off. He didn't fail to notice how she flinched at the still flashing blade before barely making contact, ripping a piece of clothing from her. With a new plan already forming, Ed didn't waste time clapping again and pressing his hand on the ground. The alchemy light coming from it went on a straight line all the way to the wall. In seconds, the lights on the room went on with doubled intensity causing the intruder to screech in surprised pain before the light blew up and darkness surrounded them again.

"W-what just happened?" Klein stammered in total confusion. His face half-buried between his arms and the ground.

Ed stood back up without taking his eyes from the attacker, who seemed to had had enough and moved in a desperate stride towards the opened window and out of sight.

"It fled," Ed finally answered.

Klein seemed to decide it was safe to climb back to his feet, then. He looked around nervously as if wanting to confirm Ed's statement with his own eyes. Once he was sure they were the only ones in the room, he visibly relaxed.

"What-the-hell-was- _that_!?"

Ed bent to the ground and grabbed the piece of clothing he had managed to rip from the intruder. It was a sewed shield that reminded him of the one on his own uniform, but it was different. "Your guess is as good as mine... But I'm going to find out…" he murmured the last part to himself with a frown.

"What about the sudden lightning? What did you do?"

Remembering he hadn't changed his arm back to normal, Ed hastily hid it behind his back.

"W-What are you talking about? I didn't do anything!" he screamed too suddenly, before smiling nervously. "B-But, what a lucky break, huh? I thought we were done for."

Klein wasn't buying it, but Ed didn't give him a chance to argue about it, pretending to suddenly feel exhausted and going right back to sleep.

The third day, Ed did almost everything to avoid Klein during school hours, that is until lunch came by. Ed still sat on his desk, putting his notes away, as Thomas' group of friends stood beside him, talking affably about trivial topics. And just like he tended to do, he dedicated that time to listen to their conversation rather than participating on it.

"Lunch time. Nothing better to charge your energy back up than a delicious cafeteria meal before getting into tortuous math classes…" obvious sarcasm drop out of Fiedler's emotionless tone.

"Math? So are you going to have classes with the new teacher?"

"Are you talking about Miss Elizabeth?"

"Yeah, that's her."

"Wow, I don't know if you should be considered lucky or miserable."

"What's so special about her?"

"The students that had classes with her in the morning said she's as ruthless as she is gorgeous."

"She'd already gotten herself a reputation as the Iron Maiden of the faculty members in just half a day."

"That's gotta be a record."

"Well she does have the qualities of a certain countess…"

"What? Do you think it's her?"

"It would make a lot of sense."

"She's not," Klein suddenly came along and interrupted; his tone full of confidence.

"Why are you so sure?" Fiedler asked in honest curiosity.

"... Well, we were attacked by her last night," he confessed, gaining a glare from the blond beside him.

"What? You're making that up!"

"I'm not! We really saw her! And she looked way too young to be a teacher," Klein continued. "We only survived because Blecher used some serious skills to fend her off!"

By then, Ed was already getting a few curious glances his way. He restrained himself from groaning in despair and just folded his arms with an indifferent façade; neither confirming nor denying what Klein was saying. One wrong move and he could be blowing his cover.

"So are you finally going to tell me what you did?" Klein asked with a smirk. "Maybe some kind of upgrade you did to your ar-?"

"Damn, I'm starving! We'll be going ahead, see you at the cafeteria," Ed removed his arm from the table before Klein could even touch it.

Confused stares follow their path as Ed dragged the taller teen out of the room by the collar of his jacket. Once out, he let go of Klein and kept walking at a pace that allowed the other teen to catch up.

"Try to keep your mouth shut about my automail, will you?" Ed requested in a low voice.

"Hey, but that arm is kinda cool. You should be bragging about it," Klain insisted in excitement.

"I'm serious, you idiot!"

"Edward, please restrain yourself from shouting in the halls around the classrooms. Some students still have lessons at this time."

Finding the voice strangely familiar, Ed turned around only to find the serious face of a certain blonde Lieutenant staring back at him, while readjusting a pair of fake glasses over her nose.

Ed froze in his place, resembling a piece of white concrete; mouth hanging open and letting out a pitiful choking sound. Klain actually flinched when seeing her.

"That's her!" he yelled-whispered to Ed. "The Iron Maiden! Admired by some, feared by everyone."

"H-Hawkeye?" he finally pronounced when he got his voice back.

"Miss Elizabeth," she corrected with closed eyes; her pokerface flawlessly in place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TWEWY reference anyone?


	5. The Storm from the East

Ed was barely conscious of the fact that Hawkeye had started talking again, being too shock of seeing her in the school grounds posing as a teacher. Yet, he somehow managed to get the real meaning of her words.

"I hope you have finished _catching up_ with your classes. You start mine _this afternoon,_ and I'm not going to give you any chances to lay back just because you enrolled late."

That seemed to catch his attention, waking him up from his shock completely.

"Huh? What class is that?" he asked honestly curious.

"Differential and Integral Calculus."

"Hm, somehow it does suit you," he commented crossing his arms and tilting his head to the side.

"Man, don't talk to her so casually! She'll rip your head off!" Klain kept whispering in panic.

Ed just ignored him.

"Anyway, I _worked_ on _it_ during the first two days. I'm pretty sure you'll be _satisfied_ with my _answers_."

Hawkeye nodded in approval. "I'll be seeing you in a few hours then," and with that, she was gone.

As they walked to the cafeteria, Klein for once, seemed to not have words for what he had just witnessed. Ed appreciated the momentary silence, but knowing it wasn't going to last, he took advantage of Klein's bewilderment and gave him the slip as soon as they reached the dining area, going straight to the kitchen's counter. After all, he wasn't lying when he said he was hungry.

Ed thought the cafeteria was a fancy and expensive version of the cafeteria at HQ. It was just as crowded and noisy, but with better quality food. He just wished it tasted as good as it looked. Then again, there was never such thing as bad tasting food when one was this hungry. He really shouldn't have skip breakfast.

Knowing the drill, Ed took his place behind the line of students waiting to buy their lunch. As he got near, he grabbed one of the previously prepared combo meals, and a drink that he opened and started gulping right there.

"Is that going to be all, chief?"

Instant reaction later, Ed spilled his drink all over the cash register attendant.

"I'll have to charge you extra for that…" said the unamused voice of Second Lieutenant Havoc, who was giving him a deadpan look.

A few badly concealed snickers took his attention behind the counter, where two other people were crouched in a fit of laughter. Ed immediately recognized them as Breda and Fuery; all three of them dressed in cooking gear. Just when and why did these guys come here?!

"Nice bandana," Ed mocked them, concealing his shock with a blank face, as he pulled money out of his pocket.

"Nice uniform," Havoc retaliated with a smirk. "You look like a real schoolboy, chief."

Ed arched an eyebrow while smiling evilly. "And you look like a real housewife. Finding your true vocation, _Jacqueline_?"

Breda and Fuery lost it and laugh straight out loud making Havoc's eyebrow to start twitching. He accepted his payment, clenching his teeth around his still unused cigarette.

"You guys are aware he's talking about the attire, so he's indirectly including you in that remark, right?" Havoc told them, shutting them up with the dawning realization.

Ed just smirked accepting his change.

"Thanks for the meal," he called out as he walked away from the counter to find a free table were to sit.

"Hey, chief!" Havoc called him back making him turn around. "A piece of advice: There's always a free spot to sit and eat in front of the _library._ "

"I might just take your advice," Ed nodded, understanding the message.

He swallowed his food on his way to said library, and threw the remaining wrappers on a nearby trashcan before entering the building. Ed didn't need to make an effort on scanning thoroughly to find what he was supposed to look for. He really wasn't surprised to find Falman right in front of one of the bookshelves, working on placing a bunch of books on the right place.

"Working hard, W- Falman?" Ed greeted the man, making him jump in place.

"Oh, Ed! I didn't see you coming," Falman visibly relax and smiled.

"I just saw Havoc and the others. They tipped me into coming here," Ed explained.

"Good! We can start our meeting then," Hughes' voice answered for Falman, as he showed to be standing behind one of the bookshelves.

Really, Ed should had stopped being surprised by then.

"Here?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I took the liberty of booking one of the study rooms," Hawkeye's voiced informed behind him. "We should have enough privacy for at least half an hour."

"Excellent idea, Elizabeth!"

The joyful baritone voice made Ed twitched in annoyance. Recognizing it immediately, he turned around to find Mustang sitting on one of the tables folding the newspaper he'd been reading.

"Now, let's start this parent/teachers meeting shall we?"

"What are you doing here, you bastard?" Ed whispered with gritted teeth.

"Haven't you heard?" Mustang asked in a casual tone as they all moved to the designated room. "With all the commotion going on, they seem to be a _little_ understaffed."

Mustang immediately smirked at Ed's twitching vein.

"I'm not little," he spat at him in a low voice.

"So, how is school life treating you?" Mustang asked, ignoring Ed's remark about his height. Ed huffed before letting it go.

"I guess I can't complain. This library is full of different books I would like to check out."

"I'm honestly surprised you hadn't read them all yet."

"Between having to pretend that I care about school and these freaky disappearance cases I've got a full agenda."

"Hmm… how are those going?"

"Another student went missing just the night before yesterday. Things could be better."

As they reached the soundproof room, Hawkeye was sure to lock the door behind them before they started.

"I got the results from the substance we found at the crime scene," Hughes informed first. "It turned out to be mercury."

"Mercury?" Ed frowned in confusion. What did that have to do with anything? "Could it be it was just a coincidence?" he asked more to himself as he got into his pensive mode.

"Don't discard it just yet, Fullmetal," Mustang warned him. "It might turn out to be important if we get the full context later on."

Ed only folded his arms in response before Hughes continued.

"Armstrong told me you found a pattern with the victims," he said. "Blond hair, huh? Sounds troublesome. You better watch your back."

"Yeah, about that... I kinda got attacked last night," Ed commented as casually as he could, though that didn't do much since he gained a mix between surprised and worried looks his way anyway.

The only one that looked unperturbed and even a bit amused was Mustang. "Why am I not surprised to hear that?" he said with raised palms and a shake of the head.

"Did you get hurt?" Hawkeye asked, letting a subtle tone of concern escape her usually cold demeanor.

"I'm fine. Whoever that was, barely grazed me," Ed answered with nonchalance; his metal arm holding his flesh one unconsciously.

Hawkeye sighed closing her eyes, as if she was expecting that answered. "Let's just check your arm anyway, to make sure it doesn't get infected."

"I'll go get the medkit," Falman offered as he walked out of the room.

"Any other injury we should know about?" Hughes asked him.

"Just the arm," Ed affirmed as he raised it in front of the group. He hesitated for a second before continuing. "It was a bit numb after the attack, but I got the feeling back gradually as the day went by."

Ed wasn't fond of being fussed over; specially when he didn't think whatever happened to him was that serious. Yet, when Hawkeye signaled him to sit down on one of the chairs and ordered him to show her his injured arm, he knew better than to protest. As Falman got back and Hawkeye got into work with the disinfectant, Ed decided to go on with the conversation.

"More importantly… I managed to retrieve something from our culprit," he mentioned as he pulled out of his pocket the sewed shield he had ripped from the attacker. "Does anyone recognize where this is from?"

The adults around him got nearer to get a closer look at the piece of garment. Falman was the one to show recognition at seeing it.

"That shield belonged to an all-girls Institute that used to be situated near the main street here in Central," he was fast to inform.

"'Used to'?" Mustang's eyebrow shot up.

Falman nodded. "It went bankrupt a few years ago after some strange incidents got most parents wary. The dropouts increased gradually till there was no way to keep the institution running."

"Let me guess… some of the students were reported missing," Ed said, receiving an affirmation from Falman.

"Did you manage to get a look at whatever attacked you last night?" Mustang asked Ed.

"Well, it was definitely a 'her'," Ed confirmed as he thought back to the incident. "But her physiology didn't look exactly human. It was almost… animalistic. She did spoke a few sentences, though."

A brief silence followed as everyone assimilated the information they were just given. Hughes was the one to move first.

"I'll be taking this with me," he informed as he grabbed the shield from the table. "It could be the lead we were looking for. I'll investigate as much as I can get from this old Institute."

"Falman, make sure to write down everything you know about that place and hand it to Hughes," Mustang ordered as he stood up from his seat.

"Yes, sir," Falman saluted before putting himself to work.

"Fullmetal, you keep your guard up at all times," Mustang continued. "Whatever or whoever attacked you, didn't get what she wanted, so she most likely will try to come back and finish what she started."

"I can take care of myself, Colonel," was Ed's way of confirmation.

"Clearly," Mustang worded, as he eyed Ed's now bandaged arm.

The teen only growled at the obvious sarcasm dripping from his superior's mouth and rolled his sleeve back in place. "Shut up, bastard!"

"Sir, please refrain from riling Edward up within the school's perimeters, or I'll be forced to put you back in place to avoid the risk of blowing our cover," Hawkeye's words were calm and collected, but the undertone promised pain and horrors should any of them dare push her hand.

Mustangs' smirk suddenly vanished and was replaced by a clammed up thin line. If he didn't know better, Ed could have swear the Colonel was sweating bullets now.

With nothing else to report, and Falman's information safe in Hughes' hands, they finally left the room.

"Ed!"

Looking around, Ed found Thomas' group standing at the entrance of the library. Sending a last glance to his team, he parted from them and walk to the group of teenagers instead.

"Klein told us you disappeared after reaching the cafeteria. Where did you go?" Thomas concerned tone didn't go unnoticed.

"Sorry, I had a sudden parents/teacher meeting," Ed apologized sheepishly as he rubbed his neck with his undamaged arm.

As the group looked back towards the place where Ed had come from, most of them froze in place and paled.

"You had a meeting with the Iron Maiden herself?!" Fielder asked in shock.

"And, wasn't that the new chemistry teacher?" Thomas observed.

"You mean, Mr. Chris?" another friend asked with sudden chagrin. "He gave us a surprise test even though this was his first day. All while bragging about his latest date… it somehow irritated me."

"At least you got a normal class. My group had to help him grade all his past classes' tests," another complained.

'That spells Roy Mustang all over,' Ed thought with a deadpanned expression and slumped shoulders.

"What did they talk to your uncle about anyway?" Fielder asked curiously.

"Um… I-I don't know, I dozed off," Ed said with a nervous laugh.

"Ed, I seriously doubt Miss Elizabeth would have let you doze off," Thomas commented in amusement, probably assuming Ed was just trying to cover a very embarrassing conversation.

Ed looked at him in bewilderment. Thomas must be one of those demon-in-disguise types! Just like his little brother!

"He's right! Come on Ed, tell us what the conversation was about. We promise not to laugh."

"W-Wh-? It's none of your business!" Ed retaliated in both annoyance and nervousness.

Before the conversation could continue, a hand on Ed's head made them all look behind him. Hughes was smiling broadly at him as Ed made to push his hand away.

"I'll be heading home now," the man informed him. "You should come visit after school. I got permission from administration to let you out for the afternoon."

"Huh? For real?" Ed's smile couldn't have been brighter.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure your brother will be more than happy to see you," Hughes reassured him. "I've been informed that you already caught up with your school work anyway."

"Wait a minute, you caught up with all your subjects?" asked one of the other teens, sounding incredulous.

"Yeah, why?" Ed asked in confusion.

"We are talking about a month worth of homework and class practices!" explained Fielder.

"I'm more surprised at knowing he has a brother. I thought he was an only child."

"His personality does seem to suggest that," Thomas agreed.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Ed asked, not sure if he should feel offended or not; still not getting what was so difficult to believe. Hughes on the other hand, laughed out loud lightheartedly.

"I'll be seeing you later," he said as he patted Ed on the back. As an afterthought, he bent and whispered to him. "I bet you're happy. You'll be able to see your wife again."

Ed face went as red as a tomato.

"I told you to stop with the 'wife' comments!" he burst, causing the rest of the teens to look at him in surprised bafflement. "L-Lunch is almost over. We should be heading to class already."

He didn't even give them a chance to react before he went and disappeared behind the library's door feeling flustered and embarrassed.

 

.o:O:o.

 

It wasn't long till he saw Hawkeye again; this time both posing as teacher and student. Thomas was right, she didn't take dozing off kindly, as she so neatly demonstrated by throwing a very well aimed piece of chalk to his head, with a strength that could rival Winry's throwing arm. He got out of that class caressing his aching forehead where a newly red bruise now rested.

"I can't believe you actually tried to pull that off," Thomas commented when meeting him on his way to the next class.

"And I would say I couldn't believe she saw me behind four lines of students and a book, but that would be a lie," Ed commented back.

They got to their classroom just in time to see the last class coming out; their faces with variants between dull demotivation or straight out irritation.

Ed's sudden suspicions turned out to be right when they finally walked in and found the supposed teacher leaning on his desk with folded arms. He considered faking sickness to avoid the upcoming torture, but he was sure that wouldn't work. That pompous bastard of a colonel just knew him too well; just as well as Ed knew how the pleasant smile the man had plastered on his face, hid an ulterior motive. Specially because said smile was directed at him. No, he wasn't smiling; he was smirking evilly while plotting Ed's demise by way of his lectures.

"Welcome," he said with too much joy to be real. "Judging by your youthful look and _size_ , I'll assume you're first years, am I right?"

"Yes, that's correct," Thomas answered, unable to detect the jab thrown at the air for anyone who got it. That anyone being Ed; who's temple vein immediately popped with a barely contained rant already forming in his head.

"You're the first to arrive, so you get to choose your seats. It's a _small_ classroom but we'll manage."

"Oh, okay," again, Thomas was the one to answer, seen as how Ed was too busy trying to bite his own tongue in the risk of blowing the cover right there and then, for the sake of turning his superior to shreds.

"Anyway, choose your seats quickly. We still have a _small_ timeframe to spare while the rest of your peers show up, but the lesson will start _shortly_ after."

'I'll kill you! You'll suffer such a traumatic and painful death by the sole of my automail's shoe, that you'll regret not bursting yourself into flames before I got you,' Someone had to commend it to Ed for keeping his thoughts to himself and even more for not acting on them. Any other day, he would have exploded at the first indication of a height reference to his persona, but he kept Hawkeye's threat fresh in his mind as he plotted his comeback.

"Say, _Mr. Chris_. Do you like children?" he casually asked as he seated down, lifted his automail leg and placed it over his flesh one meaningfully.

Mustang lifted an eyebrow at the threat. "Can't say I do, Edward. But you know what I love? _Dogs_. Specially _obedient_ and _well behaved dogs_ that _follow orders_."

"Oh, really? I like _Hawks_ better," Ed continued with a smirk. "I've heard their claws are so sharp they could rip a human's eyes out of their sockets."

He could have sworn he saw Mustang paling a bit. "You sure have a big and very active imagination for such a tiny body."

'Call me little one more time, and I'll rip your head off and stuck it somewhere you won't like!' Ed's expression transmitted.

'Try it and you'll be court-martialed before you can even blink,' Mustang's smirking glare seemed to suggest back.

"Who knows," Ed growled lowly through his teeth instead. "Maybe someday we'll see how accurate my imagination really is."

"U-Um… I don't mean to interrupt but…"

Thomas' voice got them out of their witty little world to find the rest of the students already occupying the rest of the seats with perplexed expressions; their faces tonality going a bit on the green side, courtesy of Ed's earlier blunt description.

With a clear of the throat from Mustang and Ed's change to a straighter position on his seat, the class started without anymore hidden remarks. Ed supposed it was the Colonel's way to clean the waters after the colorful display between the two.

'A storm from the East indeed,' Ed though, thinking about Hughes' warning as he entertain himself with doodles of colonels burning on their own fire or eating knuckle sandwiches.

 

.o:O:o.

 

As soon as classes were over, Ed walked out of the Institute's main building feeling somehow relieved of being allowed to get out for the afternoon. As interesting as the past few days had been, he was starting to get a bit claustrophobic.

"Ed! Over here!"

Ed turned to the voice calling him, finding Hughes standing right in front of the entrance gate. He changed to a trotting pace and greeted the man.

"Mr. Hughes! What are you still doing here?" Ed asked in confusion, though not unkindly.

"Well, I wouldn't be doing my role as a responsible adult the right way, if I didn't come to pick my nephew up from his school," he explained with a grin.

"Besides, we wanted to surprise you," Winry's voice from behind caught him off guard. As he turned around, he found his childhood friend smiling brightly at him with Elicia right by her side, grabbing her hand.

"Small older brother!" she pointed at him.

Ed's temple vein started pulsating rapidly.

"Elicia… there is no need for you to add the 'small' word to the title," Ed's eyebrow twitched as he forced a smiled; not really pulling off his attempt at hiding his irritation.

"Then… 'little'?"

"Ghraaa!" Ed pulled at his hair in frustration.

Hearing Winry laughing at his expenses, he turned his attention to her intending to reproach her reaction, but a tug on his trousers stopped him mid-action. He turned down in confusion to find little Elicia grabbing his pants with her small fist, while rubbing her eyes tiredly with the other.

"Are you sleepy, Elicia?" Winry asked her with a gentle voice, receiving a halfhearted nod in response.

Elicia then turned to Ed and raised her free hand towards him, in the universal sign children gave when they wanted to be picked up. Ed was honestly surprised for a moment before smiling with a resigned snort and relenting to her request. The moment he lifted her on his arms, Elicia didn't waste time leaning her head on his left shoulder, getting comfortable. Ed then looked back at Winry only to find her smiling at their direction in a way that was too king to be directed at him. He couldn't stop the subtle blush of embarrassment that adorned his cheeks.

"What is-?" his question was interrupted by a sudden flash that made them both blink and look at the source.

Hughes was standing just a few steps away with his camera raised and pointed to them.

"You look like a real family! Aren't you glad I manage to capture the moment?" he sang making them flush furiously. But it didn't take him long to rethink what he had just said and tears started cascading down his face. "I'm so jealous now! Elicia, why must you be so mean to Daddy? Why won't you come to my arms instead?"

Both teenagers only stare at him with deadpanned faces. So much for him to be the responsible adult figure… Ed sighed in resignation.

"Mr. Hughes, do you think we could go now?" he requested with tiredness. "You know, before it gets later."

By the time they reached Hughes' home, Al was already waiting impatiently by the door, ready to give his older brother a crushing hug before Ed could even put one step inside.

"Brother!"

"Hey, Al. Long time no see," Ed grinned brightly at his little brother, despite his sudden lack of air.

Al nodded as he finally let go. "Yeah, it's been quiet without you around."

"Elicia, come on princess! Come with papa!" Hughes voice sounded from somewhere inside the house.

"But I wanna be with big sister!"

A choking sound from Hughes was heard next.

"She's already going through her rebellious stage!" he exclaimed in panic. "Why, Elicia?!"

Ed looked back at Al with a raised eyebrow.

"Do you really expect me to believe that?" that was all he had to ask his brother as Hughes continue his heartbroken charade.

Al only laughed before changing the subject. "So, have you been able to find anything interesting on the Institute's library?"

Ed's shoulder slumped as he adopted a dejected demeanor. "I've been so busy catching up with homework and investigating the case that I haven't had time to do any research," he answered in something that sounded like whining.

"That's okay, brother," Al tried to appease him. "You can alway ask them to let you check the library after you finish the mission."

They spent the rest of the afternoon catching up with each other and just enjoying their company until it was time for Hughes to go back to the office. As he announced he was going to continue the investigation, they decided to tag along and help.

"So the girl's institute was shot down back in 1910," Al started as he was checking Falman's notes.

"Just a year before this other institute started running," complemented Ed as he checked a recently rewritten report from Sheska, who was sprawled on the table looking beaten.

"And it wasn't a coincidence apparently," Hughes' sudden frown didn't go unnoticed by the brothers, who looked at him in puzzlement.

"Did you find something, Mr. Hughes?" Al asked in concern.

Hughes placed the files he was reading back on the table before looking at them. "I just found the connection between the two institutes," he informed in a very serious voice, while he passed the files across the table so the teens could see it.

As Ed look into it, his eyes went wide with surprise. Right there in the Principal's information read 'Lysbeth Van Thorndike'.

"They both had been ran by the same Principal since their foundation," Hughes finally said.


	6. Returning from the Underground

"I blame you for all this fiasco, Fullmental!"

"Why is it automatically my fault?!"

"Well, you're always getting into this kind of trouble. This horrible luck can only be coming from you!"

"Ugh! Stop wasting your breath on complains and use it to keep running, you sorry excuse of a Colonel!"

It wasn't rare for Ed to find himself running from something every now and then. It wasn't even rare for him to have that something wanting to kill him. It was a rare sight however having to share that same predicament with his superior, one of his military teammates, and a pair of civilians.

"Falman, which way is the way out?"

"If we continue down this passageway, we'll get to one of the stairs that lead to the catwalk on top of us."

"Very well, you heard the man! Keep moving!"

Ed took a chance to look behind them and check if they were still being followed. And yep! There they were. The missing students in the flesh, looking at them as if they were a piece of meat.

After uncovering the identity of the old school's Principal, it was decided for Hughes to check on the Principal's background while Ed went and check back with Falman the next day to find more information regarding the Institute he was currently enrolled in. Of course, Ed really didn't expect to be in such a ridiculous situation when he went back to the library that evening after school...

"Here are some records of what this place used to be before the Institute was founded," Falman had informed as he passed a few folders to Ed. "The history records do seem to have a shady background."

"An old Asylum for the mentally ill?" Ed asked in surprised as he read the files. "So it all went downhill when the place was accused of mistreating their patients, but it wasn't until some of them went missing that it was shut down."

Falman nodded. "The place stood abandoned for seven years before it was reconstructed and turned into a school."

"And what happened with the missing people?" Ed asked curiously.

"The authorities never found them," a new voice joined the conversation making them both jump on their places. Turning around, Ed found Hoffman and Simon nearing their table; Hoffman being the one talking. "There were no leads. So eventually the case went cold."

"Y-Yeah, that's basically what happened," assured Falman as Ed turned to him for confirmation.

"That's when the rumors of the countess started," continued Simon. "Everyone attributed the disappearances to a female vampire that supposedly resided in here since back then."

"Apparently some of the patients witnessed the abductions, but due to their conditions, they were never taken seriously," Hoffman provided.

Ed folded his arms and frowned in thought. These rumors were going even farther back than he thought.

"You are well informed," Falman complemented with something like approval.

"Hoffman is striving for the History Scholar career, so he does a lot of research for school work," Simon explained. "I just listen when his babbling what he found."

"I do not babble," Hoffman murmured sounding offended.

"That sounds just like Falman here," Ed commented with a laugh, making Falman cringe.

"You're a new staff member, right? We've been getting a lot lately."

"Oh, right! These are Hoffman and Simon," Ed finally introduced them. "Simon was roommates with one of the disappeared students, and I met Hoffman on my first day during lunch, right after a little… incident with a group of bullies."

Falman faltered for a bit. "Ed... Please tell me you didn't do anything to them."

Ed huffed before murmuring in irritation. "Maybe I should have teached them not to judge people by their height…"

"They- ...what? ...They have no missing limbs, right?"

Apparently that was not the reaction Hoffman and Simon were expecting, since they shared looks of confusion at their exchange. Something Ed missed since he was too busy appeasing Falman, seeing as he had turned a bit green.

"Relax! Hoffman came and took charge before anything could happen. Being a senior seems to have its perks..."

Falman's shoulders slumped to a relax position and he sighed with relief.

"Well then, I guess you should thank Mr. Hoffman here, for saving you from the trouble of earning a suspension, Edward," yet another voice joined the conversation as it continued with a condescending tone. "...Or pressed charges. You do seem to have a very _short_ temper after all. It must not be easy to control…"

Ed wondered right then if strangling a teacher fell within the 'do not try unless you want to merit a suspension' category. Instead, he settled for just glaring daggers at his superior who had decided it was a perfect moment to arrive.

"Say, Ed," Hoffman reclaimed his attention. "Why are you so interested in the Institute's history?"

"U-Um… C-class assignment!" there was a reason why he had never tried for an acting career...

"Oh, I just found the blueprints of the school buildings you asked for," Falman interrupted.

"Great! Let's see them."

"What exactly are you hoping to find?"

Ed hesitated before deciding to be truthful. "I was just wondering about the disappearances," he answered Falman. "There have been too many on the same place for the culprit to be taking them elsewhere."

"Are you saying the missing students could still be within the school grounds?" Simon asked incredulously; a spark of interest in his eyes.  

"That would be the most logical explanation," Ed confirmed as he grabbed the library's plans.

"Hidden in plain sight," Mustang mused.

"Right here," Ed signal the blueprint. "The library is supposed to have just two floors right?"

"Yeah," Hoffman confirmed.

"But the prints show a third floor, is it wrong?" Simon asked in confusion.

"No, that just means there's an underground basement," clarified Mustang as he caught up with Ed's trail of thoughts, who nodded in agreement.

"And it expands around the whole set of buildings through long tunnels," Falman continued as he signal the sections of the prints that showed it.

"The only question is... Where is the entrance that leads underground?" Ed murmured as he searched for it on the piece of paper.

"Falman, are there any blueprints of what this place used to be?" Mustang asked.

"Yes, they are just copies, but they are still clear," he answered as he placed the black and white prints on the table.

Ed didn't waste time scanning through it and his eyes went wide when he saw the building located just where the library now stood.

"This seemed to be a dining area before. But why is it crossed over?" he asked signaling the map, where a big 'X' seemed to have been drawn over the original blueprints.

"I read an article about it from back then," Hoffman said as he concentrated to remember. "It said something about a gas leak on the old boiler room, which almost caused the whole place to be shutdown due to negligence."

"So the boiler room could have been somewhere below the kitchen area, right?" Ed asked him, with an idea already forming in his head. Hoffman nodded in affirmation.

"Apparently, they solved the problem by cutting the gas supply and putting the whole building off-limits," Hoffman continued as he signaled a different place on the map. "After that, they constructed a new dining area inside the third building instead."

"Off-limits, huh? Sounds like a convenient place to hide a secret passageway," Ed thought to himself. "After all, who would want to get near a building with health hazard warnings?"

"I can think of _someone_ who would do it anyway," Mustang mused with enough casualness to hide the annoyance underneath. Ed just ignored him.

"Could it still be there after the reconstruction for the institute?" Simon wondered, completely enthralled by the new development.

"One way to find out," was Ed's only answer as he grabbed the library's plans from the table and started to analyze them, while walking through the bookshelves; the rest followed.

A few minutes later, they found a door hidden between two bookshelves in the farthest corner of the building. Upon opening it, they found a staircase leading underground.

"Wanna bet the boiler room is down there?" Ed commented as he placed his hands on his hips.

"Okay, this is enough finding for one day," Mustang suddenly said, standing between the doorway and the rest of the group. "You should head back to your rooms."

"What? But we are so close from uncovering the truth behind the disappearances!" strange enough Ed wasn't the one to complain first; it was Simon.

"And who knows what we'll find there. You better leave this to the adults," Mustang resolve didn't waver.

Ed's quick glance at the two seniors' faces was enough to make him step up.

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Ed asked his superior with a disinterest facade. Seeing Mustang's confused expression, Ed turned his face the other way and placed his hands over the back of his head before elaborating. "You know how we teenagers are. You forbid us from doing something, and we'll just come back later and check it out ourselves… unsupervised."

He said that last as he turned back.

Mustang didn't look happy with the implications but he still sighed in resignation. "I rather not have _you_ , checking the place unsupervised," the fear of more property damage was implied. "We'll proceed."

The teens shared a small grin of victory at that before Mustang continued.

"I'll go first. You two right behind me," he signaled the older teens. "Edward and Falman, cover the back."

Ed nodded in understanding and Falman saluted out of habit, but the stern tone in which Mustang had given the orders made it look like a normal way of reacting.

Ed was right, there was a very old and unused boiler room waiting for them as they descended the stairs. With the help of the prints it wasn't hard to find the secret tunnel that connected to the rest of the underground basement. They walked through the long tunnel, reaching a section full of different doors. Most of them were closed tight, and the few that were opened didn't seem to have any significant clue as to what was happening down there.

"This sure is anti-climatic…" Ed commented as he picked up a piece of paper that was too dirty to discern its' contents.

"Did you mean 'disappointing'?" Simon commented back as he walked towards the only furniture still standing in the room the two of them were currently inspecting.

"Yeah, that to-"

A loud clank coming from the wooden bureau put them on high alert.

"What was-?"

"Shh…"

Ed approached the piece of furniture with caution, signaling Simon to stay behind. As he opened one of its doors, they were frozen in place by a pair of yellowish eyes staring back at them from the inside. A sudden screech coming from the apparition made them both jump and scream in surprise, causing their companions to come running to their aid.

As Mustang entered the room first, he was witness to what most likely was the strangest thing he had seen in a while. Simon had fallen on his butt, looking pale and close to hyperventilating, with a hand on his forehead, while Ed was sprawled on the ground, back down, with a grey cat stuck on his face; the only visible display of his irritation was the constant twitching of his body.

"What? Scared of cats now, Edward?" Mustang asked with a smug look on his face.

Ed grunted as he pulled the startled feline off his face. "You would be too, if you had it jump at you out of nowhere."

"What's a cat doing down here anyway?" Hoffman asked in puzzlement, watching the cat flee out of sight.

"Maybe there are other ways in by ducts and ventilations," suggested Ed, dusting himself off.

"Let's keep moving. If we don't find anything relevant in ten minutes, we'll head back," Mustang announced as they exited the room.

 

.o:O:o.

 

Meanwhile, in the outside world and unknown to them, Ed's little brother, Alphonse, was having his own encounter with a cat as he accompanied Winry for groceries.

"What is it, Al?" Winry asked him when she noticed he had bent down just outside an alley.

Al turned to her, letting her see a small kitten curled on his hands.

"It looks hungry."

Winry huffed with an amused smile at the younger Elric's familiar display. "We've got some milk, would that be fine for it?"

Al hummed his agreement with a nod of the head. As Winry searched for the bottle in the few bags they were carrying along, Al's attention went back to the kitten, petting it with extreme carefulness.

"Something's on your mind?" Winry asked him as she crouched down next to him.

"I was just thinking how Brother would scold me if he found out I've pick up another cat," he answered with a soft laughter.

A look of understanding crossed Winry's face at the mention of the older brother.

"Are you worried about him?" she asked.

Al paused for a second before deciding to be truthful and nodded again.

"I'm sure he'll be fine," Winry reassured him. "He is reckless, but with Mr. Hughes, Mayor Armstrong, and the East branch joining, he has some great backup watching his back."

"Yeah, you're right… I shouldn't be worried," Al laughed feeling a bit embarrassed at being worried for what probably was nothing. Yet he still didn't feel very convinced.

"Hey, Al?"

"Hm?"

"What do you say we pay him a visit?" Winry suggested with a sly smile.

"Huh?" Al looked at her abruptly; his action helping to show his surprise.

"I was just thinking we could take the groceries to Mr. Hughes' house and go to the Institute after that."

"Isn't it a bit late for that?" he pointed out, seeing as the sun had set some time ago.

"We could always go tomorrow, then," the more she said, the more enthusiastic she seemed about it.

"Winry, I'm not sure they'll let us in," Al shook his head, already dismissing the idea. "It won't only be suspicious if I go, but you are a girl, they won't let you in into an all-boys institute."

"Well, that's just it!" Winry remarked in excitement, raising her index finger for reinforcement. "They don't have to know we are there."

"W-What?! How are we even going to pull that off?!"

Winry just laughed as she plotted her plan. "I can't wait to see Ed's face when he sees us…"

 

.o:O:o.

 

A few miles from them, the person in question sneezed loudly making their companions jump.

"Sorry…" Ed apologized with a sniff.

"Did you catch a cold?"

"Nah, I'm fine. It's just the bunch of dust in this place."

"I think we might have found something," Falman announced from what looked like the end of the passageway.

The next room looked to Ed like some kind of experimenting area and it was by far the most spacious they had inspected yet, though the dim illumination coming from the walls was not enough to let them see beyond a few meters ahead. Beside them, a metal stand full of cages of different sizes stood against the nearest wall. The lack of sound coming from them, made the group assume they were empty, but the smell of the place was a clear give away of their recent usage. Ed couldn't hide the horrified expression that crossed his face with the possible implications of what they just found.

"This place gives me the creeps," Simon murmured as he visibly shuddered.

"Stay alert," Mustang suddenly warned them. "Something's not right."

Ed was the first to hear the low hissing sound coming from above them. He looked towards the sound, squinting his eyes in an attempt to catch a glimpse of what it was. As the hissing became louder he signaled the rest to stop advancing.

"There is something on top of us," he announced.

That's when the rest of them seemed to finally notice the noise. As they all turned upwards, a dense substance dripped down to the floor just in front of them. Even if a bit dark in color, it seemed to be shining with what little light there was. In closer inspection Falman concluded it looked like mercury. That got Ed's thoughts to go in overdrive, but before he could reach a solid conclusion, a heavy body mass landed right in front of them.

As it rose from its crouched position, Ed found some familiar features coming to light.

"Hey! You are the same lady that got into my room last night."

"T-That's a lady?" Simon stammered.

"Hm? I know you're a teenager, Edward, but I thought you were more serious than that," Mustang mocked him.

"H-huh?! Wh-?! What are you insinuating, you bastard?!" Ed blurted out going red.

The 'lady' didn't seem to take the loud exclamation kindly as she retaliated charging at them, and making them all back off to different directions.

"Everyone, retreat! We are getting out of here!" Mustang barked.

"T-There might be a problem with that order, sir," Falman informed him as he pointed back at the door, were more unidentified individuals had joined the soon to be chaos.

"We are trapped," stated Hoffman backing off from the entrance.

"Watch your back!" Ed warned the senior as he ran towards him, pulling him behind himself.

Another lady like creature had lashed at their direction and Ed had barely avoided the attack by crouching down the very moment he had switched places with Hoffman. Not wasting any time, he turned around with a round kick and sent her to the ground a few meters away. Ed blinked. He could have sworn he saw her wearing the Institute's administration uniform, but before he could confirm it, the lady jumped back up and fled from the place.

"I-I see now that you didn't need help with those bullies…" Hoffman commented in bafflement.

"Oh, he sure did! He could have been expelled if it wasn't for you," Mustang commented back as they regrouped.

Ed only answer was to roll his eyes.

"D-David?!" Simon's trembling voice caught their attention.

"What?" turning to the direction the other teen was signaling, he recognized a few familiar faces from the files he had check with Armstrong before. And indeed, a contrasting dark hair teen was among the bunch. All of them looking and growling at the small group with hostility; their faces pale with a strange grey hue.

As they kept backing up slowly, Ed noticed they were being directed deeper into the room. Mustang tsked seemingly catching up too. He stood his ground and pulled his globes out of his pocket.

Ed's eyes went wide. "What are you doing?!"

"Charade's up, Fullmetal!" Mustang explained as he put the globes on. "Everyone's safety is more important than saving a cover!"

"I'm not talking about that, bastard! What if they are being controled?!"

"Then what do you suggest we do?"

"Let me handle it." Ed suggested. "You cannot burn them to crisps and call it a day!"

"He's going to do what?!" Simon looked paler if that was even possible.

"Did he just call you Fullmetal?" Hoffman asked curiously, despite himself.

"Yeah, I go by that too," Ed answered with a sharky grin.

"Wait a second... you mean _The_ Fullmetal alchemist?!"

"So your name is not Blecher?"

"That's just the Fuhrer's idea of a funny joke," Ed dismissed it. "The real name's Elric."

The two seniors sent him bewildered looks at the new revelation as if their brains were having a hard time processing it.

"Fullmetal, anytime now!" Mustang interrupted.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, don't ruffle your feathers now."

With a quick clap of the hands, Ed kneeled on one leg and pressed his hands on the ground, letting the lights of the alchemic reaction illuminate the whole room. Soon after, huge hands made out of concrete from the floor rose all around them and went straight to the group of hostiles, trapping them against the walls or the ground as they went. Within seconds, all of the aggressors were submitted.

As Ed turned around, he was met with a pair of shocked expressions; mouths hanging and eyes bulging out. This caused him to grin widely in amusement.

"That should hold them," he commented in satisfaction.

"Great, now you blocked our exit," Mustang said with his mouth full of sarcasm.

"There has to be other ways around that one," Ed hopeful tone was turn towards Falman.

"The prints did show constructions of some catwalks over the ground as a second basement floor," he mentioned. "They connect through all the sections of the basement. Including some rooms that are not accessible otherwise."

"We'll go with that, get moving!" Mustang ordered as he gestured Falman to lead the way.

And as it turned out, the missing students they confronted first were not the only ones around. Ed noticed with chagrin, how some of those people didn't even seem to be students from the Institute, making him assume there were more disappearances related to this than they initially thought. So now they were running for their lives as they tried to reach the exit.

"This place is like a freaking labyrinth!" Ed shouted. "I feel like we've been running for hours."

"Maybe it's because we have," agreed Hoffman in between huffs.

"The stairs are right over here!" Falman indicated.

"I'm not a superstitious person, but I'm starting to believe on these countess stories," Hoffman commented in something akin to panic.

"That's not it," Ed reassured him, as they climb up. "With what we have uncovered, I got a pretty clear idea of what's been going on here."

"Care to elaborate?" Mustang asked him.

"Have you notice how some of this females seem to have animalistic natures?" Ed asked him instead. "Also, they clearly move out of instinct while still conserving a bit of intelligent reasoning on their reactions."

"Humans with animal traits...?" Mustang asked incredulously. "You mean humanoid chimeras?!"

"I didn't want to jump to conclusions on that, but the laboratory we found back there was a dead give away," Ed continued just as they reached the top. "Thought I have yet to figure out how the mercury is involved in all this…"

"What about our classmates?!" asked Simon. "What happened to them?"

"They still look pretty human to me," Mustang noted.

"If my reasoning is correct, the chimeras were used to capture them; hence the bites that were found on their bodies," Ed said. "But I don't know for what purpose..."

It took them quite some time to retrace their steps through the second floor, and by the time they reached the entrance to the boiler room, they had gained a bit of distance between their persecutors, but it didn't seem it would last long.

"How do we go down from here?" asked Hoffman as he looked down at the ground below.

"If there's no way down, we'll make one," Ed simply said as he clapped.

He created a set of gothically design stairs, functional enough to let them reach the ground and cross the doorway to the boiler room. With the door closed tight behind them, they barely had a second to relax before a low growl alert them of more company. Looking ahead of them, they found another bunch of the missing students standing right by the stairs.

"D-Don't tell me they followed us here," Simon stammered.

"It seems to me they found their way here on their own," Ed commented.

Just at that moment, one of the mindless people came stumbling down the stairs with a cry of pain and landed on top of a few others.

"Good thing I got Hawkeye guarding the top door," Mustang mused.

Well, that explained.

"So, we fight our way through?" Ed asked already in a defensive position.

"That seems to be the only way up," Mustang agreed as he positioned himself.


	7. The Dawn of a Full Out War

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Excuse any awkward narration in this chapter. There are several parts that do not seem to flow as naturally as others and I was a bit at loss in how to fix them...

After battling his way out of the boiler room, the least Ed expected to encounter as he ascended the stairs was the barrel of a gun directed at his face. He staggered to a full stop just inches away from it; his hands shooting up in a calming gesture.

"It's us, Lieutenant," Mustang's voice called from somewhere at his right.

The gun was withdrawn from his crossed-eye vision letting him see its holder. Hawkeye looked somehow relieved at seeing them.

"Why is Miss Elizabeth holding a gun?"

"That kind of doesn't surprise me much..."

Ed snorted at the senior's quiet conversation before redirecting his attention when hearing footsteps approaching them. Coming from behind a pair of bookshelves, Major Armstrong stride forward and stopped in front of them.

"I'm sorry, Lieutenant, it got away," he informed Hawkeye.

"Good timing, Mayor. Help us block the door," Mustang said as he signaled the entrance they had just come from.

"Right away, sir," Armstrong nodded and got to work.

"What got away?" Ed asked in curiosity, turning to Hawkeye.

"There was this inhuman creature that showed up from below while we waited for you to come back," she explained. "It moved so fast I barely graced it."

"Did you manage to see if this thing was wearing the Institude's administration uniform?"

"Now that you mention it, I believe it was…" Hawkeye confirmed.

"We couldn't capture it, but this female creature dropped something that might be helpful," Armstrong commented as he passed him a rough notebook with loose sheets of paper sticking out of it.

"Are you sure it was wearing the administration uniform?" Mustang asked towards Hawkeye.

"Not a hundred percent, but it's a high possibility."

Mustang looked at Ed for confirmation, receiving a nod of agreement to Hawkeye's statement.

"Lieutenant, call the others. And tell Fuery to get in contact with Hughes. We need him to investigate the staff's background."

"Sir."

As Hawkeye reached for the nearest phone, Mustang checked his pocket watch before continuing. "Falman, do you have access to the keys of the library?"

"Yes, I've got a duplicate here."

"Good, make sure no one enters unless it's one of us," he ordered next.

"Yes, sir."

"How long have we been here?" Simon wondered beside Ed.

"It's almost dawn," Hoffman answered.

"Should we go back to our rooms? Our roommates must be worried."

"That's not a good idea," Ed told them as he opened the notebook he was handed."Whatever attacked us could still be out there. With the day still dark and nobody else up yet, we would be an easy target."

Simon shivered at the thought.

"Fullmetal, bring the notebook over one of the desk. Let's see what we find," Mustang voice got their attention.

Ed grunted in understanding, walking to the nearest table; his attention already in the book on his hands. The two older teens shared a glance before following the young alchemist, and just stared in silence. Ed didn't even get past the first page before the feeling of being watch was too much.

"Do I have something on my face?" he asked in irritation.

"... Are you really him?" Simon asked 'intelligently'.

"Who?" his eyebrow shot up in confusion.

"Fullmetal, the youngest state alchemist that has ever existed," Hoffman recited.

"Oh," Ed felt as if an internal light bulb had turned on. "Yeah, it's really me."

"That's unexpected… I always thought you were…"

"What?"

"'Taller'?" Mustang supplied casually and in disinterest. "Yeah he gets that a lot."

"Who are you calling so small that he has to get on a chair just to pass below a door?!"

"That's not what he said," the rest dismissed it with dull voices.

"W-Well, I wasn't talking about your appearance," Simon regained his attention. "What I tried to say is, I thought you were someone out of reach."

"Yes, he's not unreachable; you just have to bend down a little to be at eyes level."

Now there was a smug grin on Mustang's face and surely Ed's teeth would have break had he applied any more pressure.

"Sir, behave yourself," Hawkeye warned as she got into the task of reloading her gun once she was done calling the team.

"I guess Simon means you are… pretty normal and easy to talk to," Hoffman supplied.

Ed sobered up. "Is it really that strange?"

"As Fullmetal, you're supposed to be this super genius kid whose abilities in alchemy could surpass that of a full grown man," Mustang explained. "Of course most people would think that could get over your head."

"Yeah, well, I didn't become a state alchemist for the fame or the recognition…" Ed thoughts trail to the memory of his little brother, suddenly feeling the need to see him. Unknown to him, Armstrong had started sparkling, crying silent tears at his statement.

"And again, most people don't know that," Mustang retaliated.

"Why did you-?" Simon natural curiosity was stopped short by a jab on the ribs from Hoffman, who seemed to be the more sensible of the two and read the situation easier.

"I will request of you to please keep his identity and ours hidden from the rest of your peers. At least for the time being," Mustang told them with severity. "We are in the middle of a serious investigation and the least people aware of our cover the better."

"My lips are sealed," Hoffman nodded.

"Yeah, mine too," agreed Simon with excitement.

It wasn't long before the rest of the team joined them, wearing their undercover garment and yawning in tiredness from the early awakening.

"So the cover was blown?" Havoc was asking in amusement as he looked at the two student among them; their bewildered faces noting the strangeness of three teachers, a librarian, three cooking helpers, and one of their youngest peers being all part of the military. "I think you boys owe me some money."

Breda and Fuery breathed in disappointment as they reached for their pockets.

"Just so you know, it wasn't me who did it," Ed crossed his arms in disinterest; his eyes entirely focused on the notebook.

"Huh?"

"It was the Colonel," he elaborated as he pointed at Mustang.

"That changes things, Jean," Breda said as he put his money away with a smirk. "The bet was that Ed wasn't going to last the week before blowing the cover not the Boss."

"What? It still applies!" Havoc argued indignantly. "I feel cheated…"

Ed finally looked up. "How come _I'm_ the one you're making bets about and _you're_ the one feeling indignant?" he asked with a deadpan expression.

"Concentrate," Mustang interrupted. "Fullmental, anything relevant in that notebook?"

"It's a journal," he announced as he skimmed through its pages. "It has dates registered from ten years back all the way to last week."

"That's a long time," Breda commented with an impressed sounding whistle.

As Ed skip read through a few pages, his neutral expression started to gradually change into a horrified scowl; his trembling hands supporting the notion that something was terribly wrong.

"Fullmetal, speak up," Mustang commanded.

Ed's mouth formed a thin line as he turned away from the journal and looked back at his superior. "They are all recordings… of human transmutations and their final results."

Severe looks of different levels of anger or incredulity followed as the suspicions of most of them were proven to be truth.

"Does it say what they were done for?" Mustang pressed.

"The first experiments, dated from before this Institute was founded, were all chimera creations in the attempt of making the human body compatible with the usage of mercury to avoid poisoning."

"Mercury poisoning?" Hoffman thought outloud.

"There have been a few cases of people dying through poisoning that could only be attributed to mercury, but since there had not been a clear study on the subject yet, it's still unclear what the damage could really be for ingesting it," Falman supplied.

"What could the mercury be used for?" Hawkeye asked next.

"That's…what the other half of the experiments are about," Ed continued as he read one of the files; his gaze intensifying. "...I don't really understand these formulas here, but there are notes recording attempts at creating Alkahestry's own version of the Philosopher's Stone… The Elixir of Life."

"What?!"

"Were the victims used as test subjects for the elixir?" Havoc asked more to himself.

"It's… worst than that…" Ed replied.

"W-Wait a moment, isn't the stone just a myth?" asked Hoffman in desperate confusion.

Ed just shook his head in denial, before severely answering. "It is very much real, but it's not something anyone should attempt to create."

"Does that mean… the ingredients for this elixir…" Armstrong didn't need to finish, Ed understood what he was asking.

"Yes... The notes show the use of the students' lives as an ingredient for the experiments," Ed confirmed.

The tension suddenly rose as everyone reacted with a mix of horrified expressions and shock.

"Is that how the Philosopher's Stone is created, too?!" Mustang asked in cold anger. "When were you planning on telling me about this?!"

Ed looked down at his feet unable to answer. Armstrong looked like he wanted to say something, but contained himself in acknowledgement to the fact that the question was not directed at him.

"Fullmetal, I asked you a question," Mustang pressed making the students flinch in their place.

Ed turned back to his superior with the same intensity. "Please, Colonel. Can't this wait?"

The polite and stern yet soft tone in which he said that took everyone aback to the point where Havoc's cigarette ended up falling off his mouth. The only one not fazed by the uncharacteristic request was Armstrong who was aware of the brothers' findings and the Fuhrer's orders. Ed couldn't expect him to help on this, since he was sure the Major was just as lost as he was in knowing how much he could tell them.

To his relief, Mustang sighed in defeat. "Very well. We'll discuss that at another time."

"Yes, sir. Thanks."

Simon and Hoffman exchanged uneasy glances at everyone's display. Not really understanding why the mood had changed all of a sudden and why Havoc had yet to close his mouth. Being the one craving for answers the most, Simon took a shaky breath before speaking.

"U-Um… w-when you said their lives were used as ingredients…" he began. "W-What does that mean for them? A-are they going to be okay?"

Ed couldn't have look more miserable. He bit his lip unable to meet the seniors' eyes, and shook his head in denial.

"I'm sorry..." he murmured so quietly it has barely heard by the rest.

The implications of his answer were clear. Simon collapsed on his chair looking lost and defeated. Hoffman looked just as beat but he seemed to take the news a bit better, placing a hand on Simon's shoulder in a sign of support.

"What should be the next course of actions, sir?" Hawkeye spoke after a brief silence; deciding to move forward.

"No doubt our culprit is aware of our little excursion to the underground tunnels," Mustang said as he placed his intertwined hands below his chin. "They won't stay idle after being compromised, so neither will us…"

 

.o:O:o.

 

"So what's the plan?" Al asked as he and Winry stood just in front of the Institute's gate.

"I was thinking… A place like this must have one or two metal armors for decoration, right?" Winry explained. "How good are you at stay still?"

Al made a huffing sound, already seeing that coming. "But what about you?"

"I could hide inside your armor plate until we find Ed," she simply said as she knocked lightly on the chest area.

"Mewh…"

"..."

"..."

Winry could have sworn she saw a drop of sweat rolling down Al's helmet. She sighed. "Why am I not surprise?"

"I-I couldn't just leave him there alone…" Al tried to justify. "That would have been cruel!"

"Hello, kids. What are you doing here so early?"

They turned to the voice behind them to find Hughes standing there with his usual cheeriness.

"O-Oh! G-Good morning, Mr. Hughes!" Al greeted feeling like a deer caught in headlights.

"Are you here to check on Ed?" he guessed. Not that he needed to be a genius to figure it out.

"We just thought we could surprise him," Winry explained with a smile.

"Hm, yes... I see…" Hughes placed his hand below his chin with a thoughtful expression as he nodded his head in understanding. "But you are aware of the Institute's rules about not allowing girls to visit, right?"

Winry deflated immediately and Hughes' glasses seemed to glint, even though there was no direct light to reflect on them.

He bent forward to her level and grinned mischievously. "Do you want me to show you the best route to sneak in?" he asked with a plotting tone.

Winry's smile couldn't have been wider. Al, for his part, didn't know if he should had been feeling relieved or worried with the direction this was going.

"Follow me, kids. I'll show you the way in," Hughes told them while taking the lead.

Winry gave a girly giggle and jumped in her place out of excitement. The moment she touched ground, a sudden uproar surrounded the school grounds, followed by earth tremors, causing both teens to scream in surprise.

"Winry, what did you do?!" Al asked in alarm.

"Huh?! It wasn't me, Alphonse!" she defended angrily at the insinuation.

"It sounded like an explosion coming from the Institute!" Hughes exclaimed as he ran forward pulling a breaking and entering on the gate.

"I just hope Brother didn't have anything to do with that one," Al commented as he followed the man.

"Wh-? Hey, wait!" Winry exclaimed as she ran after them.

 

.o:O:o.

 

"What the hell?!" Ed asked in shock, having troubles to keep his balance.

Just as the group was preparing to exit the library building, the bookshelves covering the secret door to the boiler room were sent flying after what seemed to be an underground explosion. Smoke and debris flew everywhere hindering their vision.

"Sir! There's something coming from the smoke!" Hawkeye's voice sounded from somewhere at Ed's right. Just as she had said, a few blurred shadows could be seen approaching through the dense clouds.

"On high alert everyone!" Mustang warned them.

"W-What just happened?!" Simon exclaimed from behind Ed.

"Stay close," Ed ordered as he made sure both students were within his vision.

The two seniors didn't seem to have any objections, seeing as they got nearer. Just then, the first shadow emerged from the clearing dust revealing to be one of the missing victims. Soon after, more followed the first. With the better illumination of the library, Ed could distinguish drools of silvery liquid pouring from their mouths as they walk unsteadily towards anything that moved.

"W-Why are they moving if they are not alive?" Simon asked in panic.

"It's probably a reaction as part of the experiments conducted on their bodies," Ed explained severely. "They were somehow turned into soulless puppets."

"What do we do, Ed?!" Hoffman asked him.

"Evacuate the buildings!" Mustang answered for him as he called everyone's attention. "Fullmetal, take these two back to the dormitories and alert your peers to get out of the Institutes perimeters!"

"What?! Don't you need help dealing with this guys?" Ed asked incredulous.

"We can't leave them without protection," Mustang answered shortly. "Falman, Breda, Fuery, go with them and call for back up!"

"Sir!"

"The rest of you, stay with me! We'll stall them here until help arrives!"

As the orders were given, everyone moved to do their assigned task, but right when Ed's group reached for the library's door, a large group of chimeras came rushing out of the underground. The added commotion made the group turn around only to find that some of the flying chimeras were already targeting them.

"Ed, watch out!" Fuery alerted him just as one of the birdlike creatures threw itself towards his general position.

Acting on instinct, Ed rolled out of the way seconds before getting tackled, only to hear a cry of panic from behind him. Looking over his shoulder, Ed was horrified to see the creature had changed targets in seconds, opting to charge at Simon instead, and snatching the teen away and out the library.

"Shit!" Ed stood immediately and followed them out, with Hoffman right behind him.

"Wait for us, Chief!" Breda yelled after him, before being surrounded by a group of terrestrial chimeras. "On second thought… you go ahead."

Ed and Hoffman found the flying chimera just a few meters above the ground, with a screaming Simon still on its claws.

"You think flying will help you, huh?" Ed clapped his hands as his smirked. "Think again!"

"What are you going to do?" Hoffman asked him.

"Grab on!" That was the only warning Ed gave him before transmuting the ground beneath them into a platform.

Hoffman yelled in surprise losing his balance and falling on his hands and knees when the platform they were on kept growing into a large pillar as it ascended. When they were close enough, Ed clap his hands again and started forming a lance from the pillar.

"Hoffman, get ready to catch him!" he warned before throwing his alchemy created weapon at the humanoid bird.

The chimera was taken by surprise and dropped its cargo, who fell right on the platform, where Hoffman was ready to receive him.

"Simon, are you okay?!" Hoffman asked with concern.

"N-No," Simon answered weakly.

A crashing sound from the library got their attention, catching the sight of more flying chimeras breaking through the windows of the second floor to join the first. The two seniors gasped in fright at the suddenly increased danger.

"We are sitting ducks here," Ed commented as he crouched down. "Get ready to run for it! I'll make us a way down!"

More stone pillars rose from the ground below, starting to create a stairway that lead towards the dormitories. Without missing a beat, Hoffman pulled Simon to his feet and dragged him along as they started climbing down. Ed was right behind them when one of the human-beasts dashed forward and grabbed him by the neck of his jacket, lifting him above the platform. His cry of surprise alerted the seniors of his predicament and both stopped short on their track.

"You are the one the queen needs…" murmured the birdlike beast, flying higher.

"Huh?"

"Ed!" Hoffman and Simon were climbing back up in an attempt to catch up with them.

"Go on ahead! I'll be fine!" he screamed back as he transmuted his right arm into a blade and slash it at his captor.

That seemed to do the trick, and soon after, Ed was falling to the ground below. Passing just by the transmuted pillars, he managed to grab the edge of one of the top ones with both hands, ending up hanging a good distance away from the ground. He grunted with the effort as he tried to pull himself back up, but his flesh arm, which was still injured, gave out and lose its hold on the platform's edge.

"Damn it!" Ed swore loudly feeling his right arm's grip slipping.

Just then, a pair of hands grabbed his automail and started pulling him back up.

"M-Man you're heavy..." Simon grunted.

"W-Wha-?" Ed was honestly surprised at seeing both seniors helping him up.

"C-Come on, Ed. You really didn't expect us to leave you behind, did you?" Hoffman asked as they both manage to finally pull him on the platform.

"You might be a State Alchemist, but we are still older. We should be the ones looking after our younger peers," Simon explained with a smile. "At least that's what Hoffman says all the time..."

Ed snorted in response as all three of them stood up. "Thanks for the save," he said as he analyzed their current situation.

Their attackers were already surrounding them from all sides; even if they ran, they wouldn't make it to the dormitories before getting caught.

"It seems we'll have to rush things a bit," he told the other two; alchemy energy already running through his hands as he observed the windows of the dormitories' second floor. "Hold on tight!"

 

.o:O:o.

 

"Has anybody figured out what that uproar was?"

"I've heard one of the laboratories exploded taking down the whole building!"

"Don't be stupid, that's just a rumor."

"Maybe it was an earthquake."

"Are we going to die?"

"I'm telling you it's the Countess! I swear I saw one of her flying pawns just outside the window!"

"Yeah, just like you saw the ghost of two of her victims coming out of one of the rooms five nights ago…"

"Hey, I did saw them!"

"It was too dark to tell. You probably just saw a shadow."

The noise and chatter on the dormitories incremented gradually, despite the early hour. Most of the students had been awaken by the sound of the explosion or the tremors it caused. As it turned out, rumors were already spreading about the cause of their rude awakening, but they were prohibited to investigate by the few adults in the building, who told them to stay indoors while the situation was being figured out. That's the state in which Al and Winry found the dormitories when they were told by Hughes to stay put.

"Whatever it was, it sure is causing a commotion…" Winry whispered with the kitty in her arms as she watched some students passing by through the slight opening between Al's metal chestplate and helmet.

"Good thing we managed to get in before they all started getting out of their rooms…" Al whispered back when the coast was clear.

Winry sighed in disappointment. "How are we going to find Ed like this?" she whined.

"Klein, hold on!"

The new voice made both of them flinched, resuming their motionless position. Just then, three students walked by; the one on the lead looking stressed and angry.

"Klein!" the one following next called again. "What do you mean Ed didn't show up last night?"

"That's exactly what I mean," the Klain guy stopped and turned in irritation. "He said he was only going to work in the library for a bit, but he never came back to our room."

"Are you sure you understood right?" the third student intervened. "I mean… maybe he spent the night elsewhere…"

"How should I know that? I'm not his mom," Klein retaliated as he kept walking. "You shouldn't worry too much, anyway. He can handle himself for someone so short."

Even with that statement, that didn't seem to appease his two companions.

"Didn't you say you were both attacked just the night before?" the third teen asked. "What if…?"

"Listen, if you are so worried, why don't you go look for him?" Klein said. "I'm sure he'll turn up eventually."

As the group disappeared from sight, Al turned his head towards the place they had gone.

"Brother is missing?" he asked; his whispering voice still managing to convey his worried tone.


	8. Panic and Confusion

A crashing sound coming from the second floor of the dormitories served to increase the commotion that was already spreading on the campus. Ed had made the platforms advance towards the building, while avoiding a few chimeras on their way. Just as they had reached one of the windows, he used the momentum they got and placed his metal arm and leg in front of him to break the glass; his automail also helpful to cover from the broken pieces as they stumble inside the place.

The few students that witness the rough arrival were baffled beyond understanding. Murmurs started to rise as more curious eyes joined the hall to see what had happened; some of the teens sounding more panic than others. The impossibility of someone entering the building through the second floor was already creating alerted confusion.

"Is everyone okay?" Ed asked as he stood and shook the broken glass off his jacket.

"Y-Yeah, I think so…" Hoffman was the one who answered, sounding quite a bit shaken.

Noticing the rest of the students were already approaching them, Ed used the still dazed seniors as cover and hurried to fix the window, adding a few metal bars around the building. The addition to the windows, seemingly out of nowhere, got a few reactions, managing to take half the attention away from the three recently arrived teens.

"Did you see that?"

"What's going on?"

That's when Simon finally got out of his daze. "Oh, we are still alive, right? Good..."

"Get up, Simon. We still have work to do," Hoffman told him as he looked at Ed for confirmation.

"I guess it would be faster if we split up," Ed agreed. "Tell everyone to avoid the windows and evacuate through the back of the building; the plaza is not safe."

With a nod of understanding, they went their separate ways.

 

.o:O:o.

 

Meanwhile, the sound of gunshots had risen inside the library as Mustang's group fought their way out; the only one fighting with alchemy, being Major Armstrong since, as much as Roy himself wanted to burn every single ghoul to ashes with just a snap of the fingers, Hawkeye reminded him coolly how, even if his flames were controlled, it wasn't a good idea to use them in a place so flammable. So once again, he found himself feeling useless, having to resort instead on the use of conventional guns and his close combat abilities.

"Is it me, or these things are bleeding silver?" Breda asked, stepping back a bit; his group ending up staying due to the developed circumstances.

"That seems to be mercury," Falman provided as he examined the substance dripped on the floor.

"Not to doubt your orders, Boss. But if you had let Ed help, this might have been a bit easier," Havoc commented as he fired another round.

"Did you really expect him to finish them off knowing who they once were?" Mustang asked instead, while punching one of the ghouls on the face, making it stumble backwards and staggered enough for Hawkeye to finish the job. Just then, a hint of realization was shown on his team, even before he elaborated his reasoning. "Even knowing these are only the soulless bodies of what once were living humans, he wouldn't stand the idea of 'killing' them a second time."

"The chimeras' apparent slight consciousness does not help either..." Fuery commented with a sad tone.

Havoc sighed in resignation, allowing himself to smile a little when he commented back. "I always forget he is still just a kid..."

They finally reached the front doors as another ghoul fell forward thanks to a well aimed bullet to the knee from Hawkeye's gun.

"Sir, the plaza is already overrun by chimeras!" Breda informed as he checked the perimeter.

Mustang cursed under his breath already signaling his team to follow. They strolled out of the library while trying to keep the hostiles inside.

"Mayor, get us any possible exit blocked! Do not allow any more of these creatures out of that building!" Mustang ordered as the rest of the team got ready to confront the menace outside.

Just as Armstrong started performing his artistic alchemy on the library's walls, a movement from the nearest bush got the rest of them on high alert, but before they could act on it, Hughes popped out, greeting them with a straight face.

"Yo!"

"Hughes! What-?"

"I got a few profiles that might catch your interest," he waved a folder in his hand as he said that. "I'll say you are into something with the administration department. At least four of the staff members that work in that area were also working on the girl's Institute. And not only there, they also worked at the Asylum that used to stand right in this area. You think coincidence?" he asked, not really believing his own question.

"Were there any records of animalistic behavior on their files?" Mustang asked while his team got to work on cleaning the area.

"Not that I know of," Hughes answered with an arched eyebrow. His questioning look was enough to make Mustang explain.

"We have reasons to believe they were turned into chimeras, just like all the disappeared students from the girls' institute," he said as he signaled the beasts his team was battling with. "The question is, if they really are chimeras, how are they so human like? The ones we have encountered up until now seem to be acting more on animal instincts than anything else."

Hughes frowned in thought. "It seems we'll need more intel…"

Right then, Hawkeye knocked one of the birdlike creatures from the sky, causing it to fall just in front of them. Squirming in pain, it turned into a more human appearance, clutching the injured arm that was now covered in blood. The admin's uniform was unmistakable. Both friends stared in bafflement before Hughes smirked widely.

"How much intel do you think she can provide us?"

Mustang regain his composure as they surrounded the now woman. Recognizing her as one of the admin ladies he had chat with over lunch just the day before, he smiled with fake enthusiasm before speaking. "Oh! Dorothea! So good you could join us! We got a few questions for you..."

She seemed surprised at recognizing half of the school staff as the culprits of her not so gracious landing, but her astonishment didn't last long before she scowled at them. "I won't betray the queen!" she spat.

Hawkeye loaded her gun loudly, conveying her message clear: 'Speak or eat lead.'

Dorothea's expression showed she was already changing her mind.

 

.o:O:o.

 

Back at the dormitories, a second explosion shook the Institute's grounds alerting the already confused and panicked students.

"That sounded a lot nearer than the first explosion!"

"I'm telling you! We are going to die!"

"No, we are not! Now go and evacuate, and tell as many people as you can," one of the senior students took charge and send a group of first years on their way, before directing his attention to a pair of middle years. "Why are you standing there? We gotta move!"

"What? Are you scared of a few tremors now?" the condescending tone was more than obvious.

"Lambert, maybe you should listen," suggested his companion, who was nervously standing just behind his friend.

"Why? Because he is a senior?"

"This is hardly the time," the older teen continued. "You heard what I said. Hoffman gave the notice that we need to evacuate."

"And why do we have to believe on what Hoffman has to say? He could be lying for all I know."

"Isn't the explosion just now good enough a reason to believe him?" he answered in desperation. "You're just bitter because he put you back in place when he stood up for one of your next to be victims at lunch time the other day..."

"What did you just say!?" the badly contained snickers of Lambert's friend behind him didn't help his injured pride feel any better. "What about I put _you_ back in place?"

Whatever was going to happen next, was suddenly interrupted by hurried and heavy footsteps coming their way; the strange metallic sound that came with it, making the three of them turn towards it in confusion. That's when a couple of voiced could also be heard.

"Al! Hold on! What are you doing! You'll get us caught!"

"Didn't you hear what they said?! Brother could be in trouble!"

That's when they finally got a visual of the ones creating such a commotion, which came on the shape of two bright red eyes looming towards them at high speed. What came out of the throats of the two middle years was something that they would later deny as the girliest scream that has ever rang through that institute. The high pitched sound distracted the shadowy figure from its sprint and made it tumble to the floor with a loud crash, just centimeters away from the students.

"It's… an armor…" commented the senior as he looked at the metallic helmet that had fallen at his feet.

"B-But w-why is i-it empty?!" asked Lambert's friend as he pointed towards the rest of the armor. "I-It was just moving, right?!"

Noticing the helmet moving at his feet, the older teen reached down with trembling hands and picked it up, revealing a small cat stretching its back.

"Is this some kind of weird joke?" Lambert asked incredulously as anger started to replace his initial fright.

The moans of pain coming from inside the armor paralyzed the group in their places, unable to do anything but stare as a blond head came out of it, followed by the rest of the body.

"Ow… my head…" the person complained looking downwards with a hand on the forehead.

"I'm sorry, Winry. I got startled," that's when the armor sat up making the students grow paler while their expressions made very good impressions of what could be a silent scream of pure terror.

"Well Alphose, you shouldn't be running around in the first place!" Winry retaliated with irritation, finally looking up towards the armor.

Alphonse seemed to tense, placing his metallic hands in front of him in a placating manner. "I-I'm sorry! It's just I really want to find Brother!"

"T-The countess…"

The small whisper was barely heard, but it was enough to get the two newcomers attention. As they finally realized they were not alone, Lambert talked louder this time.

"I-It's The Bloody Countess!" he screamed as he ran away.

"Excuse me?" Winry looked even more irritated while Alphonse just did a snorting sound.

"Whuaa! Wait for me!" his friend yelled next, following after him.

 

.o:O:o.

 

In other parts of the building, the uproar fed by the new explosion, along with the notice of evacuation was already at its peak by the time the sun was rising. Students were either hurrying to get out, or helping to get everyone on the loop of what had apparently happened.

"Haven't anyone notified the military about this?!"

"And tell them what? That we are under attack by animal like vampires trying to enter the building?"

"What? You believe that crap?"

"I saw one of them before it disappeared at the first rays of light!"

"Everyone please stay calm and evacuate through the back exits like instructed!" the few adults in the building did their best to control the situation, but with so much going on, they were having troubles getting anyone to listen. "Where is the principal when you need her?"

"Come on, Thomas! We have to evacuate!" one of his friends hurried him.

"I know but..."

"Hey, you two! I found Ed!" Fiedler interrupted as he ran towards them.

"Really?"

"Where?"

"I just heard from a few seniors that some students had come crashing through a window on the second floor. Guess who one of them was…"

"... What?" Thomas looked torn between feeling confused or completely disbelieved.

His other friend only managed to send a deadpan expression. "You know? I'm trying to feel surprised here… really, I am."

"You can keep trying on the way or give up on it, just come," Fiedler suggested as he signaled them to follow him.

He guided them to the east side of the dormitories where they found the teen they've been looking for, fuming at another three older ones.

"Who are you calling small, you abnormally tall jerk?!"

"Don't go breaking their noses, Blecher. They are just trying to help us, younger peers. It had nothing to do with your height," that's when the group noticed Klain was also there, acting for once like the mediator and not the one inciting the fights.

"Ed!" Thomas voice was enough to claim their attention, giving the escaping chance the seniors needed to get away before Ed decided he didn't like how they look with their heads on.

"Hey, Thomas. Didn't you guys get the news for evacuation?" he greeted them.

"We were looking for you," Fiedler explained. "Klein told us you never showed up at your room last night."

"'Told you he would turn up eventually," Klein commented crossing his arms.

"Oh, sorry for worrying you," Ed smiled apologetically as he rubbed his neck with his right arm, totally forgetting said arm had ended up completely exposed after transmuting it into a blade and ripping the clothes around it.

"Oh, wow, Ed! I didn't know you had an automail for an arm!"

"What happened?!"

"Apparently he grabbed a chisel and stabbed his arm with it until it fell off..." Klein kindly deadpanned.

"You are really asking for it," Ed threatened him raising his right fist.

"Is that true?" Fiedler asked in astonishment.

"Of course not! Who would be so idiotic!?"

Fiedler placed his palms in a placating gesture. "Then wha-?"

"Help!"

"She's coming for us!"

The extra voice coming at them put the group in high alert. It didn't take long before Lambert and his friend showed up running through the hall.

"What's wrong?" Thomas was fast to ask.

"The Countess!"

"She sent her pawn of evil after us!"

"Huh!? Did the chimeras enter the building?" Ed asked to himself in alarm.

"Chimeras?" Klein asked in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"Hey! Did this countess look like a humanoid animal?" Ed asked Lambert deciding to ignore the questioning looks.

"What? No! She looks human," Lambert answered.

"But she can manipulate metal armors to do her bindings," provided his friend.

"Metal-?" that's when Ed got suspicious. Without another word he went on his way towards the direction in which the two middle years had come from.

"Where are you going, Ed? The nearest exit is the other way, through the cafeterias' back entrance."

"Um… I forgot something, just go ahead, I'll catch up!" he answered as he sprinted out of sight.

A few turns later, Ed found himself in front of a student frozen in place. He slowed down to a normal walk, passing around him to find his hands raised at chest level carrying a very familiar helmet; his face reflecting an astounded expression.

"Are you okay?" Ed asked the older teen, receiving a choking sound as the only acknowledgment to his question.

With a quick scan around the place, he found a certain headless armor standing near the wall looking completely out of place. Ed frowned, taking the helmet from the senior's hands and walking towards the rest of the armor.

"Ah- W-wait!" his actions seemed to get the senior back to his senses. "Don't-"

"Meow…"

"..."

"How many time do I have to tell you to stop picking up strays from the alleys?!" Ed yelled as he threw the helmet towards his little brother, causing Al to yell in surprise losing his balance and falling to the ground; the cat coming out with a screech of discomfort.

"Watch where you throw that thing, Edward!" Winry's voice sounded from behind hall decoration as the helmet suddenly came back and hit him on the head.

"Gha!"

"Whaa! Stop throwing my head around!" Al exclaimed in alarmed running after the rolling item.

A thud behind them got their attention, finding the senior now sprawled on the ground.

"Ah! This is your fault, Ed! Look what you did!"

"Me? I'm not the one posing as a Bloodthirsty Countess and scaring the crap out of the students with my scary fac-!"

Ed met 'new wrench', face to metal jaw, which immediately got him acquainted with the hall's floor.

"Agh! Stop hitting me, you crazy gearhead!"

"Brother! We've been looking for you!" Al interrupted before the two could start bickering. "I'm glad to see you are okay!"

"You know I'm undercover, Al. You are not supposed to be here," Ed reprimanded while sitting up. "How did you two managed to trespass anyway?"

A purring sound made the three look down to find an older grey cat snuggling the smaller kitten.

"Aw, look! He found his mom!" Al commented pleasantly.

"Isn't this the same cat I saw in the underground tunnels? How did it get here?" It took Ed just seconds for the realization to hit him. "That basement is huge; of course there are other ways in beside the library's entrance!"

"Entrance where?" Winry asked in curiosity.

"I'll explain later, we have to alert the Colonel to check for all possible ways into the underground tunnels."

Hurried steps alerted them of someone coming, causing them to enter into a slight panic before Al and Winry resumed their hiding places. Seconds later, Van Thorndike strolled at fast pace through the hall so focused in her own thoughts she didn't see Ed as he helped a much disoriented senior sit up.

"Miss Van Thorndike," he pronounced in surprise.

"Oh, Edward, what are you two doing?" before Ed could think for an excuse, she continued. "There's no time to be goofing off, I just got a notice that the ground under the cafeteria gave away and a lot of students seem to be in trouble."

"What?! How long ago was that?"

"Just a few minute ago, I believe. Now go and tell your peers to not use that exit, then-"

"Wait. I'll go too. You might need the help," Ed interrupted before she could finish; his expression daring her to refuse.

"...If you must. Murray, you're in charge of alerting the rest of your peers," she ordered the senior. "Let no one near that place."

"Y-Yes, ma'am," Murray managed to answer, no quiet on his senses yet.

"Now let's hurry."

With the hall finally vacated, Al relaxed his posture. "Let's go, too," he suggested, getting a nod of agreement from Winry before they too were off.

A few meters ahead of them Ed and Van Thorndike reached the cafeteria in record time, only to find Thomas and company standing in the middle of it discussing something with a few others. No hole on the ground, nor menace coming from it in sight.

"Huh?" Ed walked in complete confusion towards the group.

"Hey, Ed. Did you find what you were looking for?"

"We have bad new! The cafeteria's back doors are locked tight!"

"We were trying to figure out which was the nearest exit from here."

Ed barely heard what they were saying concentrated on scanning the place for anything unusual. He frowned in thought looking back at the door he came from to address the principal, only to find the doorway empty with no signs of her.

"Where did she go?" he asked in suspicion.

"Who?"

That same instant, the sound of a third explosion resounded right under their feet, making most of them fall out of balance. No later than that, the ground started giving away right where they were. The last thing Ed registered was the screams of terror behind him and the sight of his little brother and his childhood friend just arriving at the doorway, before the cafeteria scenery was lost to sudden darkness.

"Brother!"

"Ed!"


	9. The Last Ingredient

Soon after capturing Dorothea, Mustang's team crossed the plaza without much effort. For some reason unknown to them, all the chimeras they were battling had retreated as soon as the first rays of sunlight had appeared.

Without wasting more time, Mustang ordered his team to reassume their original task, sending Breda, Falman, and Fuery to call for backup. He was just going to give the next orders to the rest of the team, when the second explosion resounded near the dormitories.

"Explain!" Mustang barked at Dorothea, who flinched at his cold tone before sending him a harsh glare.

"It doesn't matter how much you try to contain the queen's ghouls. She will still find ways to set them free," she ambiguously explained. "Are you sure you should be here relaxing, instead of protecting your dear students?"

Mustang frowned at her, already dreading the meaning of the explosions. "Havoc, Major, go and investigate what that explosion was about," he ordered without a hitch. "Any trouble you find let me know, and help as many students as you can to evacuate."

"Sir!"

"Yes, sir!"

As the two of them went on their way, the rest of the Colonel's group found refuge in one of the classrooms of the building standing next to the library.

With gun loaded and in the ready, Risa stood guard just outside said room, while her superior and Hughes interrogated their recently captured criminal.

It hadn't even been ten minutes when a voice alerted Hawkeye of new company. "She won't talk so easily." Benik seemed unconcerned by the gun pointed at her chest as she continued. "You are all part of the military, are you not?"

"State your business," Hawkeye went straight to the point without lowering her guard.

"Dorothea will only try to stall you while the Lady's plan is completed," Benik explained. "It's better that you know the information I'm willing to provide as soon as possible. Otherwise, the number of casualties will increment."

Hawkeye looked straight at her eyes, searching for some clue of dishonesty, but finding none, she nodded.

.o:O:o.

Al couldn't believe his eyes; one moment, his Brother was standing there just a few meters away, and the next he was swallowed by the ground beneath him, along all the students in the cafeteria. He ran forward; armor rattling with each step; ready to jump after them, but Winry's firm grasp on his arm made him stop.

"Al, wait! We can't just jump in like that without even knowing what's down there!"

"But what about Brother and he others?!"

"Didn't Ed say something about the Colonel being around here somewhere? Let's ask for his help," Winry suggested.

Al didn't seem sure of what to do, but before he could reach a conclusion, a third person showed up right beside them.

"I didn't find the keys, I guess we'll have to look for another exi- What the hell happened here!?"

Al recognized him as the Klein person they had encountered earlier. Figuring the Colonel's team had to be right where the chaos was biggest; which most likely was the underground entrance at the library; he addressed the teen in hopes of some direction.

"Excuse me; do you happen to know where the library is at?"

Klein finally noticed their presence and immediately jumped back at seeing the huge man in armor addressing him.

"H-Huh?"

"We need to find someone that we believe will be at the Library. Can you tell us where it is?" Al asked again, managing to sound polite despite his hurry.

"Y-Yeah, it's at the other side of campus" Klein pointed behind him.

"Could you show us the way?" Winry asked him with a very serious expression.

Klein looked like he wanted to reject the request, but still relented. "S-Sure. It's this way..."

Unable to take the plaza's route, they walked at a fast pace through the halls in relative silence, until Al noticed Winry's down demeanor.

"Winry?" he asked tentatively.

"He's going to be fine… he's gotta be," she murmured more to herself before forcing a smile towards him. "Right, Al?"

"R-Right!" he answered almost on instinct, but he was fast to regain his confidence. "Don't worry, Winry! Brother always pulls through. He's strong despite his size!"

Winry laughed. "Don't let him hear you saying that."

Hearing their conversation, Klein seemed to relax a little.

"You said your name was Winry?" A flash of sudden recognition shone on Klein's eyes. "Hold on, could it be you're Blecher's mechanic?"

"Huh?"

"So Brother has been talking about Winry," Al commented looking quite amused for someone with no facial expressions.

"Y-You are… brothers?"

"Uh-huh," Al nodded in affirmation. "I'm Alphonse, his younger brother."

"Younger? You're kidding right?"

At Klein's disbelieving tone, Al couldn't help but let out a nervous laugh.

"Al was feeling a bit anxious so we kind of sneaked in," Winry explained with a smile.

"I-I w-wasn't anxious!" Al protested in a voice that sounded like he was pouting. "I mean, I was j-just worried. You know how Brother tents to attract trouble like a magnet! Just look at what just happened back there!"

Winry could only look at him with a small unimpressed smile.

As they turned a corner they were met with the barrel of a gun to their faces, making them all freeze in place.

"Al? Winry? What are you kids doing here?" Hawkeye asked showing to be truly surprised at see them.

They both flinched looking for all the world like a deer in headlights. Klein, on his part, had paled considerably.

Hawkeye sighed and shook her head. "Never mind. Go and take cover. The building has been overrun by undead puppets."

"Overrun?!" exclaimed Alphonse.

"Undead… puppets?" Winry just looked confused.

"We are trying to evacuate the place, but it has proven to be more difficult since we have to make sure that none of the inhuman beings leave," Hawkeye informed them. "They just keep showing out of nowhere."

"Could it be they are coming from underground?" Winry asked in thought.

"That's correct," Hawkeye affirmed her, sounding impressed by the guess. "How did you figure that?"

"Ed did mention something about there being more than one entrance to some underground tunnels," Winry commented causing Hawkeye to show slight surprise.

"That might explain it…"

"That's right! Lieutenant, Brother needs help!"

"Edward? What happened? I haven't seen him since an hour ago."

.o:O:o.

Just behind the door Hawkeye was guarding, Roy and Hughes were in the middle of their interrogation.

"Let me get this right. The students of the old institute were used as guinea pigs in order to create strong humans with animal attributes, but it took your so called queen at least fifty attempts before getting a chimera remotely conscious of who she once was."

"I was the result of the first success," admitted Benik.

"How could you betray the queen like this, Benik!?" Dorothea's indignation was ignored.

"What I don't understand is, why no one noticed anything until now," Hughes commented in a severe tone.

"Our Lady comes from a very influential family," Benik explained. "Even if there were some suspicions, she was never touched."

"Talking about a corrupted society..."

"Since she was very young, our Lady was very interested in the legends of eternal youth, and the alchemy which supposedly make that possible," Benik continued. "It soon turned into an unhealthy obsession to the point where she committed her first attempt at creating the elixir of life; which was based on mercury as her principal ingredient. She then gave it to her younger cousin for testing purposes, but she just ended up poisoning her and getting charged for attempted murder. She was able to avoid arrest by pretending to be diagnosed with mental instability, so instead she was sent to the asylum that used to operate here for observation."

"And she started to experiment with the other patients then?" Hughes guessed.

Benik nodded. "She needed help though, so she asked her father to be allowed to keep a few of her servants alongside her while in here, so she chose us."

"She confided in us, Benik! She trusted you!" Dorothea cried. "I knew you were the weakest."

"That explains it. No matter how influential you are, it wouldn't be allowed for any of the interns to have servants with them, so you entered as asylum employees."

"That's when she started experimenting directly with humans," Benik continued. "The patients started talking about a vampire woman as the culprit of the first disappearances, so she took advantage of that."

"How did she manage to get released and found her own Institute?" Mustang inquired.

"Her history of good behavior along the Asylum's charges of mistreating their patients was enough to let her out," Benik explained. "As I said before, her family is very influential, so the fact that she was ever diagnosed with mental illness was a well kept secret."

"I see, so she used that same influence to found a school for young girls in hopes to keep her experiments running, am I right?"

"And the foundation of this other Institute is a clear display of history repeating itself," Mustang commented, already figuring out why she must had chosen this particular location to build the school.

"Seeing that chimeras were not the answer to avoid mercury poisoning, she went back to her original research and methods," Benik said. "Still, she trained the first chimeras into obeying her and used them to kidnap young students that had specific attributes; again using the rumors of a countess to her advantage."

"That is, until our little excursion to the underground tunnels disrupted her plans," Mustang commented. "What is she trying to accomplish by setting her experiments free?"

"A distraction," Benik answered shortly before elaborating. "She believes she has found just the right candidate for her formula to work. That's why I said you must hurry," Benik's tone was showing more urgency now. "She's hoping to distract everyone just enough to get him falling into her hands."

That made Dorothea laugh. "Quite the literal description, Benik," she sounded amused. "But it's too late now. Haven't you see that the explosions had ceased? The queen must have succeeded on finding him."

"Who is she targeting?" Mustang asked Dorothea with a fierce glare.

"As if I would tell you anything," she spat.

"She has found an interest on the new student," Benik answered instead. "He's a child with golden hair and eyes."

Mustang sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose at the answer. "Of course… why am I not surprised?"

A knock on the door interrupted their conversation. As Mustang gave permission to enter, Hawkeye opened the door, allowing them to see Al, Winry, and one of the students just behind her.

"Sir, there's an emergency," Hawkeye reported. "It's Edward and a few other students."

"Let me guess, it has to do with one of those explosions," Mustang commented.

"That's right!" Al confirmed. "How did you-?"

"Sir! We need assistance!" Havocs voice sounded from the end of the hall.

"Explain the situation, Havoc," Mustang ordered.

"The amount of soulless bodies entering the dormitories' building is increasing," Havoc said as he reached them. "I left the Major stalling them, but there are too many. We need backup."

"Any news of Breda's group?" Mustang asked.

"None yet, Boss."

Mustang cursed in frustration before forming a new plan of action.

"Where is the Major located?"

"First floor of the south wing," Havoc answered.

"Alphonse?"

"Brother was at the cafeteria."

"These two places are nowhere near each other," Mustang observed with frustration

"Not quite. But there's a shortcut if you travel underground," Benik informed.

"That will have to do. Havoc show us the way," Mustang finally decided, before turning to the teenagers. "You three-"

"I can help!" Al almost implored.

Hughes took charged then. "Al, I need help evacuating. Do you think you three can help me find any students that might have not abandon the building yet and escort them to safety?"

Al instantly deflated, but he nodded in understanding.

"Let's go then," Mustang said.

"There's one last thing you haven't told us, yet," Hughes said as they made to move. "Who is this queen lady you keep talking about?"

"Why, it's Lady Van Thorndike."

.o:O:o.

Ed found himself lying down on his stomach, feeling dizzy and half-conscious. The dust was just starting to clear by the time he pushed his face off the concrete he was lying on, but the sound of the students groaning and moving at his sides was enough to make him feel slightly relieve.

"Is everyone okay?" he asked tentatively in between coughs.

"It depends on your definition of 'okay'…" Fiedler was the one to answer first.

"I think I broke something," Lambert whined not too far from him.

"What just happened?" another asked in a daze.

"It was an explosion, wasn't it?"

"Where are we anyway?"

A silent chatter was starting to rise among the group as they found and help each other to their feet. Ed himself tried to follow their lead only to find his left leg trapped under a piece of concrete. He cursed under his breath as he tried to push it away, but his position and the weight of it was making it a hard task.

"I-I think we are all at least alive," Thomas voice informed.

"That's great news," Ed grunted. "Now, would you mind giving me a hand?"

"Oh, dang! Hold on we got it!"

"Don't panic, you'll be fine."

The students that were nearest immediately recognized the problem and made a collective effort to push the heavy piece of debris off of him. The moment Ed was freed from it, he sit up testing the joints.

"Still working at least…"

"Are you sure you are okay?" Thomas asked him in concern. "That piece of concrete was really heavy."

"Yeah, it took a few of us to move it," Fiedler agreed.

"I'm fine, don't worry, it will take more than that to dent this thing," Ed assured knocking his metal knuckles on his knee. Seeing the confused and unsure glances he finally understood why they were so insistent. "Oh… I never told you right? It's automail," he explained as he rolled his pants up to show the metal limp.

"Oh, wow! Cool!"

"That's a lucky break then!"

"What's so lucky about losing a limb?"

"I think he means that if it had been a flesh leg Ed might have broken it."

"Yeah, you have no idea how many times I've been save by it," Ed commented feeling like he couldn't agree more on the lucky comment. If it had been his other leg, he wasn't sure he would be able to walk for a while.

"Well, if you put it that way…"

"Oh, crap! I can't believe I didn't see it before!" Fiedler's face showed dawned realization. "It's you, isn't it?"

"Huh?"

"That's why, what you said at the library… that makes total sense!" Fiedler's eyes were positively shining with stars. "And when Klein explained about how you two escaped from the crazy vampire lady… and your arm and leg…"

"U-Um…" Ed just smiled nervously, not quite knowing how to answer that.

"Ren… calm down and breathe. This is not the time and place," Thomas the ever pacifist, made an effort to take him off Ed's back.

"What is he talking about anyway?" Lambert asked, looking quite irritated of being off the loop.

Thankfully, Fiedler never got to elaborate, though Ed wasn't sure if that was exactly a good thing...

"Oh, how nice of you to finally drop by."

The new voice made everyone tensed and turned towards it; most of them gasping when seeing who was talking to them.

"So it was you after all, Van Thorndike," Ed commented calmly. He rose from the ground and proceeded to dispose of his torn jacket, all while not taking his eyes off of her. "I should have known you would be here hiding while your mindless pawns ran rampage up there."

"Oh, do not misunderstand my actions, boy. I was merely making preparations for your arrival," she explained in total casualness as a few of her humanoid chimeras and ghouls surrounded the group.

"What do you mean?"

"Have you ever heard the stories about the beginnings of alkahestry in Xing?" she asked in a mild conversation kind of tone. "They all talk about an immortal Sage coming from west, who supposedly passed all his knowledge about this science to the people of that country."

Ed continued to glare at her, while still keeping his guard up, alerted of his surroundings.

"This Sage had a variety of names," Van Thorndike went on walking steadily around them. "One particular name came to my attention... 'The Golden Sage'," she glanced at Ed meaningfully. "Do you know why he was called that?"

"Why should I?" he spat.

"For someone so brilliant you sure are ignorant," she mocked. "It was because of his particular physiognomic attributes. Golden hair and eyes."

Ed raised an eyebrow in reaction, not sure where she was getting at.

"I've been trying to find the right formula for the Elixir of Life to work," she went on. "But no matter who I used nor how young they were, all experiments ended up in failure. Not that my little ghouls aren't helpful, mind you."

That last statement not only got a reaction from Ed, but also on the rest of the teenagers with him. They all look either shocked or outraged by the implications; the fear of being attack by said ghouls being the only thing keeping them from expressing their disapproval.

"That's what made me think that maybe the Sage's immortality came from his genetic composition," she explained. "So in order for the elixir to succeed, I need someone with similar genes than those of the Sage himself. You see where I'm going with that?"

"You're basing your theory on physiognomic attributes? Really? There could be a hundred people with these same traits out there. That means nothing, you crazy bat."

"You say that, but I have yet to cross paths with someone remotely close to having golden eye color such as your own," she retorted undisturbed by the insult. "The probabilities are too high to let the opportunity pass. Your appearance at this institute must not be coincidence!" she pronounced with delight.

Ed actually gave a double take, not able to find any trace of sanity on her crazed gaze.

"Sorry to disappoint you, lady. But I'm as mortal as they come," he said in a level tone.

"Well, we'll see about that now, won't we?" she asked as she started approaching. Ed immediately got into a defensive position, without taking his eyes off her.

"Ed, behind you!"

He turned around at Thomas warning just in time to dodge a ghoul that launched itself at him. Without missing a beat, he spun on his place, raising his automail leg high before letting it down on the ghoul's back; the force of the kick making the ghoul fall flat on the ground.

He had no time for relaxing though, since as soon as he took care of one, another came running at him from the side. Ed barely blocked the attack with his metal arm.

"Go take cover!" he yelled at the students, simultaneously sliding one foot right under the ghoul's legs causing it to lose balance. As the ghoul began falling backwards, Ed pressed both hands on its shoulders, and leaped over its head without releasing his hold. While still head down, he spun his legs to get momentum and jumped out of the way just in time to avoid a pair of ghouls that crashed against each other right where he had been.

"So far, you've supported my theory," Van Thorndike's voice sounded from another corner of the room.

"It's called training! Don't you know the difference?" Ed shouted at her, right before hitting a ghoul on the face so hard it was sent flying to another.

"Well, aren't your fighting skills too good for someone who aspires to be a sedentary scholar?"

And another ghoul was sent to the floor.

"Now that just plain rude, lady," Ed said in irritation. "Not all scholars spend the rest of their life behind a desk."

"Yeah! You tell her, Ed!"

"Fiedler, don't distract him!" Thomas reprimanded him as the group of students pressed themselves against one of the walls.

"Wow, he called you Fiedler, he must be mad."

A few more martial moves later, all the ghouls in the room have been taken care of, leaving only the living standing. Van Thorndike snorted in amusement.

"The more I know about you, the more intriguing you become," she commented. "Now, I will have to ask you to please come quietly."

"As if," Ed raised his arms going back to a defensive stand.

"Don't try my patience, Edward," the principal warned him. "I still have a few other ways to persuade you to cooperate," she raised her hand to the side to show what she meant. Ed froze in dread seeing a bunch of chimeras surrounding the group of teenagers and snarling threateningly at them. "If you continue to rebel, that thin patience of mine might break…"

Ed growled in frustration, starting to analyze his possibilities. Doing a quick mental calculus of the distance between the teenagers and the chimeras, he sighed in apparent defeat and clapped his hands together.

"Are you going to plead for mercy now?" she mocked.

"Don't you dare harm anybody else," he commanded while kneeling on one leg.

"You know? Common pleading manners come with a 'Please' or an 'I beg you' before or after making the request," she said, sounding condescending.

"Who said that was a request?" Ed retorted, finally placing his hands on the ground and allowing the alchemic energy to travel through the ground all the way to the students' position.

"Wha-?" before she could react, a few protective walls had risen right in front of the group of teenager, dividing them from the chimeras around them; soon after, the transmuted shields advanced towards the menaces, trapping them against the other walls of the room. "How did you-?"

"Should I have mentioned it earlier?" Ed asked in mock confusion. He stood up with a determine smirk. "I'm an alchemist."

She stood in shock, completely baffled by the new turn of events.

"I knew it!"

"Way to go, Ed!"

"Thanks for the safe!"

"Wow, that was pretty close…"

"Not bad for a shrimp!" That got a vein to pop, but he never got to retaliate.

The cheers from the students behind Ed seemed to get Van Thorndike out of her frozen state and she started shaking in restrained chuckles until she exploded into maniac laughter. The students cut their chatter short almost immediately, and Ed tensed in uneasiness with a frowned of suspicion.

"Aren't you full of surprises?" she finally said when her laughter ceased. She produced something from her jacket, staring at him with eyes full of devilish anticipation. "There is no way I'll let you go after such a magnificent display of your worth."

Ed's eyes opened wide in shock as he recognized the symbol written on the palm of her now gloved hand. Before he could even move, Van Thorndike half-bended her fingers and pressed her other thumb on the circle. Blue sparks surrounded the whole room and seconds later, an explosion on the ceiling caused the earth to tremble as the structure started falling apart.

"How did she do that from that distance?!" Ed asked to himself watching the raining debris filled the place. "Damn it!" he clapped his hands together and pressed them against the ground once more, barely able to finish creating a doorway on the shield of concrete he had created earlier, before a falling chunk of ceiling made him jump back. "This place is falling apart! You gotta get out of here!" he called the other students.

As they started running for the exit, Thomas turned to him.

"Come on, Ed! Let's go!"

Ed stare at the pieces of rubble now blocking his way out, before looking around and noticing that the principal was backing towards a far wall.

"I'll find a way around! You make sure to get everyone out!"

"... Okay. Be careful."

And with that, he was left alone with her.

"You must be crazier than I thought if your alternative plan for when thing don't go your way, includes killing everyone alongside you," Ed commented.

"I'm not that desperate," Van Thorndike answered before making the wall explode behind her, giving her an escape route.

Ed ran after the principal, stopping in his track as he crossed the broken wall. The new room was completely covered in blinding darkness. He strained his hearing, trying to pinpoint her location through the sound of her steps. But instead, her laughter echoed on the walls.

"Thank you for your cooperation, golden child," she sneered. "You are standing right where I needed you."

By the time he knew what was going on, it was too late. Blue energy light illuminated the place, revealing the transmutation circle Ed was standing right in the middle of. His eyes opened wide in horrifying realization as he felt the energy starting to surround him.

"The elixir of life, will finally be completed," Van Thorndike said with a wicked smile.


	10. Backup's Arrival

While it was decided that Al and company would check the top floors, Hughes had gone to a lower section of the dormitories, almost immediately finding Hoffman along a couple other teenagers. As they insist in helping with the search for more stranded students, Hughes decided to continue the exploration a bit longer before returning.

"Do any of you have ideas of where we could find anyone in hiding?"

"There's an isolated room within the dormitories' resting area," Hoffman provided, gaining curious looks. "Only a few know about it, but…"

"It's worth a shot," Hughes finished for him nodding in agreement.

"Lt. Colonel Hughes!" a new voice coming from the end of the hall made them stop on their track, finding a group of military soldiers coming their way.

"Oh, Second Lt. Ross," Hughes greeted the female officer as her group saluted him. "So the backup finally arrived. That's great news!"

"We were order to find you and help you search the perimeters for any civilians, sir," Sergeant Brosh explained.

"Just in time, men. We were about to search a particular interesting and probably dangerous place," Hughes announced.

When they arrived at the resting area Hoffman had mentioned, they found it full of ghouls trying to break into the rest of the building. Taking positions, and keeping the students away from the area, the military took immediate action against the hostiles.

"Just as I suspected..." Hughes commented, taking cover behind the wall separating him from the warzone and pulling out a set of knifes. "It seems that room has another entrance to the underground tunnels."

"You mean like the one on the library?" Hoffman asked beside him. "That's strange; we didn't see any other way into that place when checking the prints…"

"You were with Ed when he went to explore the tunnels," Hughes stated already guessing what the senior student meant. Receiving a nod of confirmation Hughes narrowed his eyes in thought. "It's very likely that these other doorways were created after the original construction was finished, so they were never marked on the final prints," he took a quick look at the battle zone before turning to the teens, ready to join in the chaos. "Stay put until it's safe."

The sounds of gunshots and overall battle lasted several minutes in which none of the teens managed the courage to take a look.

"W-What's going on, Hoffman?" one of his friends asked him in fright.

"Why do you ask me?"

"You seem to be in tune with these guys, so…"

"... Even I don't understand completely. "

.o:O:o.

Right below the rising chaos, the small group of students that Ed had helped escaping found themselves walking through the underground tunnels with uncertainty and feeling completely lost.

"Where are we supposed to be going?"

"This path seems to be pretty straight forward. Let's just keep going and look for an exit."

With no objections, the group continued on their way in silence until one of them spoke up.

"I didn't know the principal was so insane…"

"Yeah, who would have guessed she was behind everything?"

"Does that make her a vampire?"

"Of course not, stupid."

"Blecher is taking his time. Do you think he'll be okay?"

"Pfft, who's that?"

"What's with you Fiedler? You've been babbling nonsense since we fell through the floor."

"Maybe he hit his head."

"Nonsense? No, you're just as blind as a mole," the teen retaliated, ignoring the second comment. "I can't believe you haven't figured it out! Blecher is not his rea-"

"Ren..." Thomas warning voice stop Fiedler from continue on with his excited rambling.

"Come on, Thomas, you have notice it too, haven't you?"

"What the hell are you two talking about?!" Lambert exclaimed with exasperation. "Spill it already!"

A few murmurs of agreement from the rest of the group caused Thomas to sigh in resignation as Fiedler happily obliged with the request.

"I'm talking about Ed of course," he started.

"You mean the shrimp that knows alchemy?" Lambert asked. "What about him?"

Fiedler was now the one looking exasperated. "Well that's just it! How many people our age do you actually know that ca-?"

A sudden metallic noise resounded right above them, interrupting their conversation.

"W-What was that?" Lambert asked already stepping back.

As if to answer his question, a screeching sound filled the air before one of the chimeras fell in front of the group. Their faces paled in apprehension as they soon realized they had been surrounded by a bunch of them.

"What do we do?! What do we do?!"

"H-How long was Ed going to take, again?"

"Oh, man… we are dead… we are so dead…"

"Shut your filthy little mouths already!" the new voice coming from above made most of them gasp and turn to find one of the administrative personnel looking down at them.

"I-Isn't that Mr. Jansons?" Fiedler murmured in apprehension.

The rest of the teens realized that indeed, the person talking to them was who Fiedler had mentioned; yet his appearance seemed to have some extra animalistic traits. Beside him, there was a woman with similar attributes that seemed to be as in control of herself as Jansons in contrast to the more animal like chimeras growling at them.

"Oh, don't be so rude with our guests. The Mistress just ordered us to keep them company and make sure they don't alert anyone."

"I'm sorry Miss Joubert. I just don't see why we can't just get rid of them and get it over with."

A few students gulped loudly at that.

"Why, it's leverage of cou-" before she could finish her sentence, a well aimed knife to her thigh made her scream in pain and fall to the ground alerting her comrade of the approaching group of soldiers.

Knowing they were outnumbered, Jansons turned tail from the scene leaving the rest of the chimeras to deal with the newcomers.

"Take care of the creatures and protect the children!" the voice of a female officer ordered from the catwalk above the students as the MPs took position; gunfire and painful growls already invading the place.

"We… we're saved," Lambert's voice quivered before he collapsed on his butt with relief.

"Isn't that Ed's uncle?" Thomas commented as he caught sight of the man that was apprehending Joubert.

"Mr. Hughes!" Fiedler yelled at the man, getting his attention.

Turning down below at the sound of his name, Hughes found a few familiar faces within the group they were rescuing. "Hey, kids! Have you seen Ed?"

"He's back there!" Fiedler informed him as he pointed behind him.

Hughes nodded in understanding before handing the arrested woman to one of the MPs. "Lt. Ross, Sergeant Brosh, you're with me. The rest of you take the kids out of here and report back to Colonel Mustang!"

.o:O:o.

Ed's legs buckled underneath him and he fell on his palms and knees, feeling a painful pressure on his chest that made him choke. He lifted his head trying to fight against the energy that was still surrounding him, but only manage to look at Van Thorndike with defiant eyes.

"Such a feisty spirit," she praised. "With such a lively soul, there's no doubt you're the key for the elixir's creation."

Ed growled at her in respond but his frown was replaced almost immediately by confusion as he felt fluid coming up his throat. Unable to contain it, he coughed violently, retching the substance up. The metallic taste in his mouth made him turn to the floor only to feel a wave of dizziness at the sight of his own blood dripping from his mouth. He eyes widen in shock as it started drifting along the symbols of the circle, slowly turning them red instead of white. He gasped in pain, feeling another strong heave pulling at his insides and he released a second puddle of blood that followed the same path than the first.

"Don't try to resist it, dear. It will only make it worst for you," the principal commented; her tone full of cynicism.

Ed tried to put his foggy mind to work through coughing fits and heaves. He suddenly understood. This was what had happened to the victims. The reason why their bodies were dry of their own blood. This was bad. This was really, really bad.

'If I don't do something, I'm going to die here!' he thought in panic.

.o:O:o.

"So… you're a girl…"

"Um… yes?"

"Brilliant observation, Jacobs. Any other obvious statement you would like to say to the lady?"

"Shut up! I'm just saying it's weird to see a girl our age inside the institute."

"What did you say your name was again?"

"I-I don't think I have mentioned it…" even as she managed to smile politely, Winry was progressively looking more uncomfortable with the weird looks send her way.

"Stop your amateur flirting, she's taken," Klein's sudden statement made Al feel extremely amused; in the other hand, Winry blushed with an incredulous expression.

"Huh?!"

"Aren't you Blecher's girlfriend?"

"What?! I-I… I'm not...!"

Al's group had just found a few students hidden on the roof of the building, and they were on their way to the rendezvous point when a sudden jolt made Alphonse stop on his track with a gasp. Winry and Klein turned to look at him with questioning eyes.

"What is it, Al," Winry asked him with concerned.

"I'm not sure what's going on exactly, but something feels wrong," he tried to explain. "I can't shake the feeling that something happened to Brother."

That only seemed to increment Winry's apprehension as she tensed considerably. Klein frowned at the scene before adopting an indifferent facade.

"What a troublesome roommate," he said gaining their attention. "Why is everyone worrying about him so much? He might be a shrimp, but he can handle his own."

"That's right, Al!" Winry agreed. "Besides, the Colonel said he was going to look for him."

Al wasn't convinced at all by their efforts but he still nodded deciding best to continue on their way.

.o:O:o.

Back with Mustang's team, the situation was gradually getting under control, as they had finally regrouped with Breda and the others. The backup had arrived within minutes, and the institute was already full of soldiers clearing the area and helping evacuate. Most of the undead have been taken care of and a few of the chimeras under Van Thorndike's command had been apprehended. It wouldn't take long before all the chaos was over.

"Sir, the students that had fallen through the broken floor had returned with only mild injuries," Hawkeye reported.

"Good. Where's Fullmetal?" Mustang asked turning to look at her.

"He didn't come back with them, sir," Hawkeye continued her report with a steel expression.

As said students were lead out of the place, Thomas couldn't help listening in and approached them a bit apprehensive.

"Are you maybe talking about Ed?" he asked. Their shared look and mutual silence seemed to say it all. "That would actually explain a lot," he said with a nervous chuckle.

"Do you know where he is?" Mustang finally asked.

"Ed helped us escape the basement, but it was collapsing after the Principal made the ceiling explode. He got trapped on the other side of the room, but said he was going to find a way around and catch up."

Mustang nodded in acknowledgement and thanked him for the information.

"Lieutenant, call Havoc and Major Armstrong. We are going in."

"Yes, sir."

.o:O:o.

Way deep in the tunnels beneath them, Hughes's team had yet to find their missing comrade, as they strode through the catwalk at a fast pace.

"I can't help getting a strong feeling of déjà vu," Maria Ross commented with chagrin; flashbacks of the incident back in the fifth laboratory already running through her mind.

"I know what you mean, and this place is just as creepy," Denny agreed.

Just as they passed across one of the several doors connected to the metallic pathway, Hughes stopped them at hearing a voice talking, he signal the other two to keep quiet and entered the new area cautiously, finding they had entered an observation room of sorts; the voice he had heard was coming from somewhere below them near a metal balcony.

"My original plan was to keep you alive for studying. Coming across someone with your particular traits is a once in a lifetime opportunity, after all," Van Thorndike's voice was saying. "But seeing as how you and your little friends couldn't stay ignorant, I had to change my plans."

With eyes opened wide in shock, the three officers barely manage to contain the gasps already forming in their throats; Maria placing a hand over her mouth with a horrified expression.

There was an activated transmutation circle drawn on the room below, big enough to cover the whole area. Right in the middle of it, laid Ed on his palm and knees, coughing uncontrollably with a bloodstained hand over his mouth. Van Thorndike herself stood on a platform a few meters above the ground with a satisfied smirk.

"S-Shut up, y-you psycho!" the pain on the young alchemist tone and his trembling body reflected the amount of effort it took him just to pronounce one syllable. "Y-You're wasting your t-time," he was barely able to say that last before he choked loudly and a river o blood rained down his hand.

"What do we do?" Denny whispered almost in panic.

"How good are you at long distance shots?" Hughes asked them without taking his eyes from the woman below.

They shared a look before Maria answered. "With our handguns we might just give away our position, sir."

Hughes thought as much, but they couldn't waste any more time. "We'll have to take the risk."

Before they could act on it, though, another individual entered the scene.

"Miss Lysbeth! The military has taken control of the Institute and there are some people approaching!" a young man came in the room somehow managing to jump around the circle until he landed on the platform Van Thorndike was standing on.

"How near are they, Jansons?"

"At the rate they are advancing, less than a minute way."

"That won't do. Little Edward here still has a lot of blood left on his system," Van Thorndike commented in total casualness, making the teen growl. "It's a very risky method but we may have to accelerate the process," following her words, she pulled out a gun from her waist and pointed it at Ed who looked at her with incredulity. "It's truly a shame, Edward. If only you had behaved we could have avoided this entirely."

Seeing her finger already on the trigger, Ed stopped breathing with his eye going as wide as dinner plates. This had to be a joke! There was no way out of this one! He was going to die! He let out a gasp at the sound of a gunshot ringing through the room; his eyes shutting close on instinct, waiting for the new pain to flood his system. But as nothing came, he opened his eyes to find the loony woman clutching her bloody hand tightly with the smoking gun still on her grip. His sight travel around the image before him, unable to understand what had happened, until it rested on a small knife pinned at Van Thorndike's feet.

The woman let out a snarl of rage and turned her head away from him. "Jansons, on the balcony!"

The chimera beside her jumped at her command, transforming into a wolf in midair and propelling itself on the room's wall to reach the observatory above them. Both Bross and Brosh took that as their cue to start fire against the beast, but it was too fast for them and it came barreling into the place with claws in the ready.

"Keep it busy!" Hughes yelled as he ducked to the side to avoid a slash to his stomach.

"Yes, sir!" Armstrong's subordinates answered in unison, moving around the room and firing at the violent menace.

Trusting them to follow through, Hughes approached the balcony again just in time to see Ed's limbs giving away in exhaustion causing him to collapse face down on the floor.

"Ed!" Hughes called at him in worry; the teen's harsh breathing being the only indication that he was still alive. The man then turned to the mad woman with renewed fury. "Lower your gun and cease the alchemy reaction, Van Thorndike!"

"Mr. Hughes, I must admit I am truly surprised to see you here," she said with a calm demeanor. "I'm sorry you got to see your nephew like this. But fright not and take pride in knowing that he would be taking part in the creation of a legend!"

Hughes' frown deepened at her cynical tone already preparing a new round of throwing knifes, only to find he had just one left. He had to make it count.

"Is that what you say to every parent that lost a child because of your senselessness?"

"None of the others were as special as Edward," she retorted dismissively with an exaggerated flick of her hand. "By the way, Mr. Hughes, you should have said your goodbyes when you had the chance."

Hughes understood too late the meaning of her hand movement just as a flying chimera came from the dark ceiling and rammed into him, pushing him all the way to the other side of the room and through the door where he fell on his back centimeters away from the catwalk's edge.

A shout of alarm from Maria Ross sounded from within the room he had just been in, but the continued struggling noises showed the two lower ranking officers were unable to come and help, still having their own troubles to handle.

With his last knife still in his hand, he used it to slash at the female birdlike beast causing it to back off with a cry of pain. That's where the sound of turmoil coming from the level below the metal passageway finally caught his attention, finding Roy's team and Major Armstrong fighting of a large group of chimeras. The colonel didn't show any restrains using his flame alchemy this time, proving it to be very effective against the menaces.

"Roy!" Hughes yelled at him succeeding in getting his attention.

Mustang looked up in surprised, finding his best friend porting a very alarmed expression, and a bird chimera shrieking threateningly at the man.

"Lieutenant, hostile at seven o'clock!"

With a swift turn around and gun in the ready, Hawkeye nailed a shot on the beast's stomach, sending it crashing to the ground below.

"Hughes! How did you get there?" Mustang yelled at him.

"There's no time for chatting, Roy! Ed's in the next room over! He needs help!" he informed the Colonel, pointing in the direction of the room.

Understanding the urgency of the matter, Mustang nodded and signaled his group to stand back before snapping his fingers and creating an explosive barrier of fire between them and the rest of the beasts. The brightness of his flames was enough to make the chimeras flee, screeching in pain at having their eyes exposed to more light than they could handle.

"Let's move!" Mustang ordered as he ran towards Ed's location.

Upon arriving he stopped in his track right in front of the transmutation circle, where his subordinate was sprawled face down on the floor, literally choking on his own blood.

"Fullmetal!" Roy yelled in horrified concern, already thinking of a way to stop the reaction. "Major, destroy the circle!"

"Yes, sir!"

Van Thorndike growled at them in defiance before pulling out an extra gun and pointing it at them; the first weapon still facing the teen on the ground.

"Don't move!" she shouted. "I've come a long way for this. I won't let you interfere now!"

Mustang glared at her with determination, lifting his hand ready to snap.

"I wonder what would be faster. Your bullets? Or my flames."

"The Flame Alchemist?!" the woman grinded her teeth in apprehension at the sound of his cold voice, but didn't relented her threat. "This is none of your business, you military scum!" she snarled.

"You made it my business when you decided to threaten my subordinate's life."

"Your subordinate?" Thorndike asked in utter disbelief. "This child?" an expression of sudden understanding washed over her features before she burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?"

"Why, Colonel, I must thank you then," she explained with mock gratitude. "He was exactly the person I was looking for and you sent him right into my arms."

"K-Kick… her b-butt… al-r-ready…" Ed murmured in between coughs; his voice raspy and tired.

"Stop talking, Fullmetal. You're wearing yourself out," Mustang ordered. Though part of him was glad the kid seemed to be lucid.

While this was happening, Hughes had returned to the observation room to find Second Lt. Ross pointing her gun at the wolf chimera, which had turned back to human and was lying on its stomach on the ground with Denny halfway through the job of restraining it with handcuffs.

The sound of alchemy energy accompanied with footsteps caught their attention, to the opened doorway finding a new set of stairs on the catwalk apparently recently formed with what was easily distinguished as the Major's artistic alchemy. Coming up said stairs, was Second Lt. Hawkeye, with a loaded rifle ready in hands. She walked past them and went straight to the balcony.

"I read your research's journal," Mustang was saying from below. "There was a mention of the usage of mercury on every single one of your experiments, but I failed to see it used here."

"Well, Colonel, as a fellow alchemist you surely understand the evolution that any good research goes through…" Van Thorndike answered so enthralled on the conversation, that she never noticed the missing company. "With this particular child, that substance won't be necessary."

"What makes him so special?" Mustang asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Hmm… Edward didn't seem to understand how unique his particular traits really were, either. You Amestrian alchemist should really get out of that bubble of self-centeredness that you live in and explore other countries' possibilities…"

"We could look into those possibilities," Mustang commented nonchalantly, as he stepped to his left, making Van Thorndike change positions in order to track his movements. "But we are busy creating our own."

Before anymore could be said, a shot resonated on the room and Van Thorndike fell to the ground with a bullet going through her left shoulder, causing her to cry out in surprised pain and letting go of her guns. Mustang's distraction had paid off, giving time for Hawkeye to sneak around into position and fire.

"Havoc, apprehend that woman. Major, the circle!" Mustang barked.

Everyone was immediately moving. Armstrong hit the ground with all his might, causing an alchemy reaction that broke the floor all the way to the circle and cut off its activated energy immediately.

"No! What have you done!?"

The hysterical cries of the woman were tuned out by Mustang, while he ran towards his youngest subordinate, who had stop heaving but was breathing harshly and looked very pale. His visible half-opened eye was dull and a trail of blood was still running down his mouth.

"Fullmetal, can you hear me?" asked Mustang turning him over to inspect for injuries. "Answer the question."

"T-Took… y-your time… b-bastard."

Mustang signed in relief. If the kid had enough in him to throw a jab at his superior, he wasn't as badly injured as he thought.

By then, Havoc had handcuffed Thorndike and was already escorting her out of the room. Hawkeye was next to show up, exchanging a silent conversation with Mustang before turning away and following Havoc towards the exit. Armstrong stood idle just behind Mustang after giving the order to his two officers of escorting the principal's accomplice to the surface.

That's when Hughes finally caught up with them in time to see the group leave with their two caught criminals. He glared at Van Thorndike without a word before running inside the room to join the ones left behind.

"Do you think you can stand?" Mustang was saying.

"I…" Ed tried to sit up, but a rush of dizziness caused him to fall back. "... Think not."

"He lost too much blood," Hughes observed, noting the stains that had form through the room.

"Sorry, kid, you'll have to swallow your pride," Mustang informed him before turning to Armstrong. "Major?"

Armstrong nodded in understanding and walked forward to lift Ed's limp body off the ground and into his arms. The teen didn't even protest, making Mustang rethink about his true medical state.

"Let's hurry and take him out of here."

By the time they were exiting the room, Ed's consciousness was finally drifting away into blessing darkness.


	11. Settling Bets

The building that once was the proud foundation of the prestigious Institute of Central was now looking as chaotic as a war zone. The first thing Colonel Douglas noticed upon arrival, was the amount of medical care units parked in the area; all of them attending lines of loud students and teachers expressing different levels of concern and panic. Among them, Central troops were trying in vain to calm down the civilians.

With a frown of discontent towards the paperwork this would cause him, he continued on his stride to the building and turned his attention towards one of his approaching men.

"Lieutenant, report."

"We have a few suspects detained along a few mindless chimeras, sir," the soldier explained.

"Chimeras?" Douglas raised a doubtful eyebrow.

"Yes, sir. They seem to be… human chimeras. But only three of them have the human conscience necessary for interrogation. The rest of them are not responding positively to human understanding."

That really took the cake. This whole situation was turning out to be a puzzling nightmare.

"Have you started the interrogations with the more responsive ones?" he asked as they enter the building.

"Yes. One of them have confessed to the abduction of the students' bodies we had retrieved right after their decease," the soldier continued his report. "Something about using them for further experiments and reinforcement of rumors about vampire attacks."

Douglas' eyebrow twitched in sudden annoyance. He was here to retrieve a kidnaper and murderer, not a bloodsucking monster coming out of a children's book.

"And the undercover team?"

"We haven't seen them yet, sir."

Of course things were never easy… he had to wonder, not for the first time, why he was assigned to patch things up after someone else's mess.

"I'm telling you! This is not a place for kids! Go out with the rest of your classmates."

"But one of ours is still down there!"

"Yeah, we just want to make sure he's okay!"

"We will take care of things. Just go and wait outside."

"What's going on here?" the argument taking place was loud enough to distract Douglas' already frustrated thoughts. He stepped in, finding a bunch of brats surrounding one of the military officers in charge of guarding a crumbled doorway that led to a particularly spacious area in the building.

At the sound of his voice, everyone present turned his way, ceasing any complains that may have formed in their throats.

"Colonel Douglas, sir!" the guarding officer saluted. "These kids just came back from medical examination claiming that one of their friends is still inside."

"Which is true! We haven't hear anything from him yet!" one of the students exclaimed. "Don't you think we have a right to know how he's doing?"

"Ren, I think you're pushing it a little," another whispered.

Douglas could feel the beginnings of a rising headache coming. Resisting the urge of pinching the bridge of his nose, he stood straighter and addressed the obnoxious bunch.

"This is no place for civilians. Let the military do their job and stay put until everything is settled," seeing their disagreeing expressions, he was fast to continue, before they could spill a new set of complains. "Be assured that the moment we have any news about your missing friend, you'll be notified."

The group of students looked doubtful, already losing the battle, but before anything could be decided, the noise of running footsteps just past the doorway caught their attention to another group of students descending the adjacent stairs, accompanied by a menacing looking man in armor; said menacing feeling vanishing almost instantly at the sound of the young voice coming from the metal protections.

"Lieutenant Breda!" he exclaimed, gaining the attention of the soldier in question. "We found these students on the upper floors and the rooftop."

"Well done, Al. We'll get them check for injuries," Breda nodded at him.

"Have you hear anything about Ed yet?" the girl accompanying the group asked without missing a beat.

"Colonel Mustang and a few others went to his aid," a tall Warrant Officer with grey hair informed them. "It shouldn't be too long before they are back."

"Hey, there's Klein!" the Ren kid shouted dashing past the doorway and completely ignoring the protest of the guarding soldier; the rest of his group soon following.

Douglas had to fight to keep a professional expression.

"What should we do about them, sir?" his first lieutenant asked him.

"Just keep an eye on them and make sure they don't mess with anything," he finally ordered as he turned to leave. "I'll go find the undercover team and ask them about the details of this whole fiasco."

"Sir!" with everything said, the Lieutenant watch his commander go without complains, even if he didn't look all too happy about his new assignment.

Back with the teenagers, Klein stepped back in disinterest as Al and Winry talked with the officers, deciding to take in the sight in front of him instead. He had never seen a warzone, but he was sure his surroundings were pretty close to looking like one. Pieces of debris and furniture, which nature could no longer be discerned, were scattered across the area. Several MP soldiers were busy covering up bodies of what he hoped were once undead ghouls, while other officers assessed the situation. He didn't doubt the scene was almost exactly the same on several areas of the now ruined school.

"Hey, Klein!" the sudden voice got his attention to the approaching group, finding Fiedler at the lead.

"Oh, hey. Good to see you are all still alive," he commented.

"Who's the girl?" Fiedler asked in mocking amusement looking behind Klein.

"That's Winry," he answered, causing her and Al to turn their way at the sound of her name. "Blecher's mechanic."

"What? You haven't figured it out either?" Fiedler asked in sudden disbelieve. "Come on people, it's not so hard to see."

"What are you talking about?" Klein asked him in confusion.

"Fiedler, you keep babbling and babbling but never explain what you mean," one of his friends said in exasperation.

"Blecher is not his real name!" he finally shouted impatiently, but that just seemed to get the rest of the group even more confused.

"So Brother blew up his cover, huh?" Al commented in amusement.

"I'm just surprised he lasted this long," Winry said next.

"Well, it was more of a connecting the dots kind of thing," Thomas explained. "Ren here is a big fan, so it wasn't that hard for him to figure it out."

"Good, I'll take that as not being Ed's fault, so my wallet is still safe," Breda said with a grin, causing Fuery and Falman to exchange amused looks.

"Why do I feel like I have been left out?" Klein complained.

"Welcome to the club," another in the group commented.

A sudden commotion coming from the underground entrance in the room caught everyone's attention in time to see Lieutenant Hawkeye coming in, followed by Lieutenant Havoc and a bloody struggling principal. Right behind them, Lieutenant Ross and Sergeant Brosh were dragging a similarly struggling administrative.

"Get your filthy hands off our mistress! You have no rights to treat her this way!" he shouted.

"Don't you worry, Jansons. We'll be released soon enough," the Principal told him with an air of condescendence.

"I'm sorry to burst your bubble, lady," Havoc interrupted, not really sounding sorry at all. "But with the amount of witnesses we have this time, both civilian and military, along with the fact that you threatened a military official's life, you won't be seeing the light of day any time soon."

Lysbeth Van Thorndike was a proud woman, but even she paled at the implications. "My family will be hearing about this," she spat in a last effort of avoiding her arrest.

"Hm, I'm sure they will," Havoc mocked her.

"Sergeant Major Fuery, please request for the retrieving unit," Hawkeye's voice commanded as they strolled by. "Make sure someone check her shoulder."

"Yes, ma'am," Fuery nodded before doing as he was told without question.

"You there!" she pointed at one of the MPs near the group. "We need a medical team underground ASAP."

"Ma'am!" the guy saluted and ran to get a team ready.

Both Al and Winry scanned the general area from where they had come, expecting to see the rest of the squad walking behind them. Al stepped up about to ask where they were, but Breda's sudden question stopped him.

"Is everyone else okay?"

Hawkeye turned to look at the group of teens for a moment before addressing the question.

"For the most part. Though Edward needs medical attention."

As soon as those words left her mouth, Al and Winry were already sprinting behind the medical team that had left a few seconds before.

.o:O:o.

The first thing his numbed mind managed to register as he fought to pull through his confusion state, was the harsh and cold ground underneath him. He was already wondering why he was sleeping on the floor when a variation of both familiar and unknown voices reached his ears; the rush and urgency in their tone, already alerting him of something not being right.

"Colonel! What happened?!"

Was that Al? Why did he sound so far away?

"Stay calm, Alphonse," the Colonel's commanding voice sounded annoyingly near in comparison. "What's the status?"

"He does not present any physical injury that would require immediate attention," a stranger's voice reported.

"Hudson, how are his vitals?"

"Symptoms show severe blood loss. His condition is stable, but fluid resuscitation is recommended."

"Do we have any intravenous fluids left?"

"Yes, we have enough Lactated Ringer's solution."

Lacta-what? That sounded disgustingly close to the lacteal products he despised so much.

"If you're t'lking 'bout milk, I don't w'nt ‘nything to do with it," he slurred almost incoherently, finally managing to open his eyes, only to find blurry figures instead of people.

"Welcome back to the living, kiddo," Hughes voice greeted him.

"Ed! Ho-How are you feeling?"

Even in his weakened state, he could distinguish Winry's voice cracking. She sounded scared, even if her tone was washed with relief at seeing him awake. Crap. He made her cry. Frowning to himself, he made an effort to sit up only to be stopped by a firm grasp on his shoulders.

"Major Elric, please stay on the ground. You are in no condition to stand," one of what he now guessed was a medical officer requested.

"'m fine," he tried to protest, but the hands didn't budge.

"Edward Elric, do listen to these fine officers," Armstrong's voice boomed just over his head. "They are well trained on medical procedures."

Oh, that explained the inhuman strength of his improvised restrains.

"Please stay still while we inject the solution."

"Huh?" Okay, time to go. "I'm fine, seriously. I don't need any injections."

"Oh! What's this? Do I sense a wave of fear coming from my subordinate?" Mustang's smug voice got his attention, just as his sight improved enough to see that damn smirk plastered on the Colonel's face. "I didn't know you were afraid of _small_ needles, Fullmetal."

"Shut up, bastard! Who are you calling small?!" Ed suddenly felt his face warming up in embarrassment.

"Colonel, please stop upsetting the patient," one of the officers on the medical unit requested almost pleadingly.

"Sorry, force of habit," he apologized to the woman even though he was still smiling.

"Keep him still, Major."

"W-Wait, wait, wait! You don't need to-!"

"Brother, stop struggling. It will be over before you know it," Al reproached with a sigh.

"Al, you know those things and my skin do not sit well together! Why aren't you trying to stop them!?"

"Edward, stop being such a baby," Winry reprimanded next, before smiling mischievously. "Things like this are why your body doesn't acknowledge your age in terms of your height."

He was never given a chance to voice his retorting rant.

.o:O:o.

A horrified, bone chilling scream coming from underground left the impatient students thinking the worst. They had been stopped from following after Winry and Al by the military officers accompanying them, who reassured them that things were going to be fine, and asked them to please wait patiently for the rest of the team to return.

"That sounded like the chief," Lieutenant Breda, as they got to know him, commented with serious casualness.

"I wonder what trouble Ed got into this time," Sergeant Fuery murmured, sounding a bit more nervous than his partner.

"Knowing him, something big," Breda said. "But nothing he can't handle."

"Are you saying he gets in trouble with the military often enough to be known?" Klein asked with a frown of confusion.

Breda smirked. "I guess you could say that."

Fiedler snorted loudly at the answer causing a few eyes to turn his way.

"So... Tell us what's so obvious that you can't believe us blind mortals can't see."

"What's the point? Everytime I try it, I get interrupted," Fiedler answered with deflated enthusiasm. As if summoned by his words, Colonel Douglas and two of his men approached the group. "See?"

"Lieutenant Breda, correct?"

"Yes sir," Breda confirmed, standing up and saluting.

"Is there anything to report regarding Colonel Mustang's and the undercover team's return?"

"Nothing yet, sir."

Douglas made an impatient grimace at the lack of knowledge he was getting before breathing deeply.

"I assume the interrogation with the principal didn't go smoothly," Breda ventured.

"She used her injury as a pretext to avoid interrogation," Douglas explained in clear irritation. "The only way to push the investigation forward for now is through the reports of the ones involved on the mission."

"Colonel Douglas!" one of the MP soldiers came up to him and saluted. "One of the scouting squads had come back from the south entrance to the tunnels."

"Anything relevant to report?"

"About twenty cages with a variety of both domestic and wild animals were found in deplorable conditions, sir."

Douglas frowned in disapproval to the news before turning back to Breda. "Let me know if your Colonel shows up before I'm back."

"Yes, sir."

As they watched the Colonel and his subordinates leave, the group fell back in silence, resuming their task of waiting for the rest of the team to show up. Thankfully, they didn't have to wait too long before they heard the first signs of someone approaching. As soon as the first familiar face showed up from the dark underground doorway, the students looked up in anticipation.

Breda, Fuery, and Falman, -whose impression of a flower on the wall was as flawless as ever-, stood straighter and saluted at their oncoming superior.

"Welcome back, Boss," Breda said.

"How's Ed?" Fuery was fast to ask.

Mustang only smirked at them before moving to the side to let the rest of his company pass. "Why don't you ask him directly?"

"Seriously, this is ridiculously reckless," one of the medical unit members was saying in irritation, causing a good-natured looking Hughes to straight out laugh.

"Don't worry; we'll keep an eye on him."

"We'll let you know if anything happens," Al reassured the man next.

As the medical team took their leave, they finally noticed the pair of teenagers coming from the back of the group; Major Armstrong following them close behind.

"I told you I can walk on my own, Winry," Ed was complaining, having his childhood friend grabbing his left arm over her shoulders to offer him support.

"Yeah, as you clearly demonstrated back there when you tried to stand," she retorted.

"That was then, now I feel fi-!" a wave of what looked like sudden dizziness cut his sentence short before he regained his balance.

"You were saying?"

He turned away in clear embarrassment. "Stupid gearhead…"

"Alchemy freak."

Unable to contain their excitement, the group of students stood up and rushed towards the pair with a stream of thrilled words and phrases expressing their relief, and throwing questions left and right at a rate that made it impossible for Ed to discern them individually.

"Colonel Mustang," Douglas voice cut their one-sided conversation short, gaining everyone's attention. "I have orders from the Higher Ups to wrap things up sooner rather than later. The public is already questioning what the ruckus is all about."

"I understand the urgency, Colonel Douglas," Mustang nodded in agreement, already walking ahead and gaining a few curious glances from the students who recognized him as their laidback chemical substances teacher. "Lieutenant Breda, you're still in charge while I'm gone."

"Sir!"

"Lt. Colonel Hughes, it will be best if you, Major Armstrong, and Major Elric accompany us and report your findings," Douglas continued while looking at each of them as he named them.

"Does it really have to be now?" Ed complained in exhaustion causing the curious looks to be redirected at him.

"Deal with it, Fullmetal. The sooner we are done with this, the sooner you can go back to your own research," Mustang told him.

Ed sobered up immediately at that, and stepped away from Winry with an exasperated sigh. "Fine, fine, I'm coming."

As the three undercover officers walked past the group, they failed to notice the variation of shocked and bewildered faces sent their way.

"You know what would get your energy back?"

"I don't want to see any pictures of your wife or daughter, Lt. Colonel Hughes."

"Ack! You went back to address me formally! Why are you so cold, Ed?!"

The moment they disappeared from sight, the tense silence that was left behind was broken in a cacophony of confused yet excited voices.

"What the heck just happened?!"

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but they just called Ed ‘Fullmetal’."

"That's what I've been trying to tell you! He _is_ Edward Elric!" Fiedler said.

"H-Hold on a minute! Does that mean Ble-I mean, Ed is part of the military?!"

"Well he's not called a State Alchemist for nothing," Thomas helpfully supplied.

"Are you saying we've been talking to a living legend without even knowing it?!"

"Not just that, man! We've been hanging out with him!"

"Oh, _now_ you get it!"

"Well it's not like you were very clear on your explanations..."

"That's why I never ask him for help in math class."

"Oi!"

.o:O:o.

Colonel Douglas took them to an isolated room within the building to hold a meeting regarding everything that had happened the past week. They spent a long time discussing their findings and piecing everything together. Douglas couldn't look more satisfied with the information.

"This should be enough to settle all the paperwork," the man said as he placed all the written reports in a folder. "That just leaves us with the cleanup, which my troops are already taking care of."

"What will happen to the chimeras in custody?" Hughes asked in curiosity.

"They will be taken to central headquarters as ordered by the Higher Ups," Douglas informed them.

That didn't sit well for Ed. "What are they planning to do with them?"

"That's for them to know," Douglas said sharply as if to imply he was not going to accept any questioning about their superiors' decisions. "Now, regarding Miss Van Thorndike, all the recollected information will serve to finally have her sentenced."

"You mean, a dead sentence?" Ed asked him with wide eyes.

"It probably won't come to that," Hughes told him. "It's true that with all the evidence against her, she won't be able to escape imprisonment, but by using her family's influence, I'm pretty sure she can at least avoid a dead sentence."

Ed was still unsure with the way things were getting arranged, but a hard look from Mustang reminded him it was not his place to argue, so he bit his tongue and just listen to the rest of the conversation in silence.

By the time they were dismissed, Ed was feeling positively drained; both figuratively and literally speaking. He stepped out of the building just as a couple of soldiers were transporting a covered body to the central plaza of the Institute. Releasing a deep breath, he watched with a heavy heart as they placed it in the ground, lined up with a few others. Thoughts of what could have been avoided if he had acted faster came rushing into his head. After spending so much time within those walls, the lost students were no longer strangers. They had faces now.

"Hey…"

The soft voice from his right was enough to get him out of his gloomy thoughts, finding Hoffman and Simon standing beside him.

"Oh, hey, are you two okay?"

"We could be asking you the same," Hoffman replied. "You don't look very good."

"I'm just tired," Ed answered in automatic. After a brief silence he spoke up. "I'm sorry I couldn't save your friend in time..."

"You don't need to apologize for that," Simon was fast to answer. "If it wasn't for you, some of us would have been next… so, thank you for saving us."

Ed looked at them a bit baffled by the gratitude.

"What's with that look? Are you really that unused to be thanked?"

"Huh? Um, no, it's just… never mind," he finished lamely letting a small smile to be formed on his features.

They spent a few minutes just doing small talk, and Ed was already feeling a lot better by the time his younger brother found him and requested a tour to the library so they could check a few books. Being equally eager to see what they could find, Ed agreed to go. Saying their goodbyes to the seniors, the brothers went on their way.

The moment they stepped into the library's building, all the cheery attitude and confidence Ed had managed to build back up, escaped his body in streams of dark vibes. The library was in total ruins. Not a single bookshelf had been spared from falling over or being crushed by massive pieces of alchemically transformed concrete. Books lay ripped all over the place within debris, wood pieces and loose sheets of their own contents. In other words, it was a total loss.

"I must be cursed. Yeah, that's it. I'm cursed by whatever higher power is out there to get me for my sins…" Ed was murmuring to himself, drowned in self-loathing. It just couldn't be coincidence that this was the second library that met imminent destruction before he could check its contents regarding their own research.

"Brother… i-it's not that bad," Al, the ever optimistic started saying. "We'll find what we need elsewhere… Wasn't that one of the reasons we were going to visit Teacher in the first place?"

"You're right, Al," that seem to do the trick. "We should check for the earliest train to Dublith."

"What? You're leaving so soon?" Fiedler's voice let them know they were no longer alone.

Ed turned around and smiled at the group of friends waiting by the entrance. "Yeah, sorry, but we really have to get going."

"But you'll come back to Central and visit, right?"

"Sure," Ed assured them. "I-If we come back alive, that is."

The curiosity of the group was picked even more at seeing both brothers trembling lightly.

"Why? What's on Dublith?" Klein was the one who asked.

Ed and Al shared a nervous look before answering. "Our Teacher."

'What kind of teacher is that?' was the thought that came on everyone's mind.

"Hold on, Ed. Don't you forget we are stopping at Rush Valley first," Winry warned him.

He grimaced. "What? You still want to go there? You should have gone on your own while I was here."

"I told you before! Who will pay for my expenses then?"

They were already in the middle of one of their usual bickering, when the rest of the eastern squad joined the group just outside the library's building.

"Wait, why are we nulling that bet?" Havoc was asking.

"Breda said there was no way of knowing if Ed was the one to blow up his cover first or not," Fuery explained.

"That's still cheating…"

"Well, chief, you managed to destroy the whole school in less than a week," Breda told Ed, looking at the rest of the buildings as if admiring a good handiwork "That's got to be a record."

"Nah, he has done worst," Havoc mentioned with a smirk.

"What!? This wasn't my fault!" Ed defended immediately.

"It kind of is, if you consider how everything exploded after you and the Colonel decided to check the underground tunnels," Fuery kindly intervened.

"Which means… I won that bet!" Havoc couldn't look more thrilled even if one of the young staff members they've been interrogating would have gone on a date with him.

"How many bets did you pull behind my back?!"

"Relax, Chief. I'll make sure to get you a drink with my price."

"He's still underage, Jean."

"Oh, right… how about lunch then?"

Ed snorted in response. Now that he thought about it, he hadn't eaten a thing since the day before.

"You know? I think I'll take you up on that."

"Not so fast, Fullmetal," Mustang intervene. "I did say I was going to cut the money off your research funding for any property damage you cause, so we still have some math to do."

"What was that, you Colonel Bastard? Let me remind you half of this destruction is your fault, so don't go throwing all the blame on me!"

"What? Is the responsibility too _big_ for you to handle?" Mustang continued mocking.

"Who are you calling a pipsqueak so small that he could be crushed by a particle of dust?!"

"Are they going to fight?" Fiedler asked, watching the banter from the sidelines with stars in his eyes; the excitement of being able to see a battle between the Fullmetal and Flame Alchemists was implied.

"They better not," Hawkeye answered shortly; her finger already pressing off the safety of her gun.

The immediate reaction of the ones who knew her was to back away, while the group of students paled considerably.

"I think it'll be best to get tickets for tomorrow," Al decided with a sigh.

"Well, we already waited a whole week, what's one more day?" Winry agreed with a smile.


End file.
